How Early Should Your Kid Start Doing Chores?

Mar 5, 2019 4:00 PM

If you’re confused about how early should your kid start doing chores, here’s a quick guide on it.

Beginning to introduce your child to chores at a young age can be beneficial, it helps to establish team-effort in your household as well as helping you stay a little saner from being able to delegate age-appropriate tasks. Having small daily or weekly chores will help teach responsibility young, especially when small incentives for completed chores are provided, such as extra-curricular for children and an allowance for older children. Here is what you need to know about how early should your kid start doing chores and which chores are the best for each age group.

Providence, RI — By Ilike / shutterstock

How Early Should Your Kid Start Doing Chores?

There is no “correct” age for when you should introduce the concept of chores to your children, nor is there a magical, medical chart about what chores to introduce at exactly what age. Each child and their abilities are different, maybe your second-born always has been a master at preparing their lunch in the morning for school since age 6 but maybe your first-born needs a little help with that but they religiously take all the laundry to the right rooms without having to be told.

Using a weekly chore chart to manage what needs to get done on a daily and on a weekly basis has a few key benefits. One, it allows you, the parent, to see for yourself what needs to be done around the house or otherwise. Two, it allows your child to begin seeing patterns in what needs to be completed when it needs to be completed, and how often. Lastly, using a chore chart can help you manage what doesn’t get done so that you can keep an eye on any chores that seem to always get skipped over.

For children aged 5 and under

Put away their own toys
Match socks
Put dirty clothes in the laundry basket
Deliver laundry to the right spaces

For children aged 5-10

Help fold laundry
Make their bed before school in the morning
Sweep common spaces
Feed the family pet

For children aged 10-13

Help with the dishes
Fold laundry on their own
Help younger sibling get ready for school
Clean the kitchen

For children aged 14 and older

Take out the trash
Walk the family pet
Do a load of laundry
Clean the bathroom

How early did you start teaching your children about participating in chores? How did you set yourself up for success? At what age do you think kids should start doing chores? Let me know in the comments below.