Teaching Home Responsibilities and Chores (by Age)

Though age isn’t the only determining factor when trying to assign home responsibilities and chores to your little ones, it does give you a good starting point, varying levels of physical and mental complexity. We know why teaching chores is important because we know why we learned them growing up too. They taught us about self-accountability, self-reliance, respect, time management, and valuable life skills overall.

Here’s a quick guide on how teaching home responsibilities and chores (by age):

Ages 2-3

• Picking up their toys and tidying up their play area
• Helping feed pets
• Putting soiled laundry in an easily accessible hamper or basket

Ages 4-5

• Making their bed
• Cleaning their own room
• Clearing their eating utensils and dishes off the table

Ages 6-8

• Sorting and folding their own laundry
• Putting away their own laundry
• Taking care of pets indoors without supervision
• Helping pack their school lunches and snacks
• Learning the difference between garbage and recycling

Ages 9-12

• Washing dishes or loading the dishwasher
• Setting and clearing the table for meals
• Doing their own laundry
• Taking out the garbage and recycling
• Walking the dog with supervision

Some other things to keep in mind when assigning chores:

• Allowances are nice, but not necessary. Rewarding your older children with allowance can be useful in teaching them how to manage money, but be mindful of rewarding them for doing chores they’d be doing for free in their future adult lives.
• Be specific in your instructions. Rather than saying “clean up the playroom,” say “put the toys in the toy bin.”
• Don’t be a perfectionist. Your little ones are learning new things every day, so be patient with them and understand that they might do things a little different than you would.
• Make a schedule and stick to it. Once your kids understand that there’s a schedule and a system in place, they’re more likely to complete the chores knowing they have deadlines and consequences.
• Make the chores easy and repeatable. Some parents use a chore chart. Whatever your method, ensure that the responsibilities are clear and that your child is equipped to complete them.
• Don’t forget to say thank you! Just like any human, kids love feeling appreciated and recognized for their efforts. Make an active effort to show your appreciation for their contributions.

---

Kinder Buddies Oakville Child Care is a Quality First Daycare and Infant Care facility in Oakville, Ontario. We take care of children from the age of 6 weeks to 5 1/2 providing nutritious meals and fun activities all day long.