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The Importance of Chores for Kids

  • Preschoolers
  • School-Age Kids

Sometimes parents wonder if they should really give their kids chores. After all, isn't it the parents' responsibility to manage the household? And don't kids need an opportunity to 'just be kids' for now because they have the rest of their lives to worry about chores?

Most kids have really busy schedules too. They rush around from one activity to the next with little time to clean the house or mow the lawn . Despite those concerns, however, giving your child chores may be one of the most important things you'll ever do.

Kids who do chores learn responsibility and gain important life skills that will serve them well throughout their lives.

Benefits Kids Gain from Doing Chores

While assigning your kids chores can certainly take some of the strain off you, that's not the only reason you should expect your kids to pitch in around the house. Studies show chores are good for children.

Research from a well-known 75-year Harvard study examined the childhood psychosocial variables and biological processes that predicted health and well-being later in life.   Researchers concluded that kids who had chores fared better later in life.

Chores were the best predictor of which kids were more likely to become happy, healthy, independent adults.  

Why is sweeping the floor and clearing the table so important to kids' well-being in life? One reason is that kids feel competent when they do their chores. Whether they're making their bed or they're sweeping the floor, helping out around the house helps kids feel capable.

Doing chores also helps kids feel like they're part of the team. Pitching in and helping family members is good for them and it encourages them to be good citizens.

Chores for Preschoolers

Preschool children can be given simple chores that involve picking up after themselves. Chores should include picking up their toys each day. They can also begin to learn how to pick up their room and put their dishes away after a meal.

Young children respond well to sticker charts to help remind them to do their chores.

Because preschoolers usually can’t read, a chart with pictures of each chore can jog their memory about what they need to be doing. After your child completes a chore, put a sticker on the chart. For young children, the sticker can be a good incentive. Older children may need bigger rewards to stay motivated.

Chores for School-Age Children

Once children begin attending school, their responsibility with chores should increase as well. School-age children should continue to do chores that involve picking up after themselves. For example, teach your kids to put their shoes and backpacks away when they get home from school.

Gradually add new chores to your child's chore list. As chores become more complex, teach them in a step-by-step manner how to do each task.

For example, if a child is expected to put his own clothes away, teach him where to put the clothes and discuss your expectations. Praise his effort and encourage him to keep practicing. Don’t expect perfection.

Chores for Tweens

Tweens can start learning how to take on more responsibility. Cleaning the bathroom, sweeping the floors, and dusting might be some of the tasks you add to your child's to-do list.

There's no need to reward a tween for every task they complete. Picking up after himself and cleaning his room, for example, are part of pitching in and helping the family.

Paying your tween an allowance for doing extra chores can be a good way to start teaching your child financial responsibility.

If you don't want to pay your tween real money, create a token economy system . Let your tween earn tokens that can be exchanged for time with electronics or outings with friends.

Chores for Teenagers

Teenagers need chores that will prepare them for the real world. Assign chores such as meal preparation, mowing the lawn, or doing the laundry. These life skills will be important after high school so your teen can live independently.

Giving your teen an allowance can motivate him to do chores. It can also serve as a way to teach your teen about how to manage money.

Make an allowance system similar to the way your teen will earn money at a job. Provide payment one time per week. Don't give out any loans and don't hand out money if your teen hasn't earned it.

George E. Vaillant; Charles C. McArthur; and Arlie Bock, 2010, " Grant Study of Adult Development, 1938-2000 ", Harvard Dataverse,V4. doi:10.7910/DVN/48WRX9

Albernaz A. Sparing chores spoils children and their future selves, study says . The Boston Globe. December 8, 2015. https://www.bostonglobe.com.

Harvard Medical News:  Sparing chores spoils children and their future selves, study says .

  • Michigan State University Extension: Benefits of Kids Doing Chores .

By Amy Morin, LCSW Amy Morin, LCSW, is the Editor-in-Chief of Verywell Mind. She's also a psychotherapist, an international bestselling author of books on mental strength and host of The Verywell Mind Podcast. She delivered one of the most popular TEDx talks of all time.

Home / Expert Articles / Parenting Strategies & Techniques / Accountability & Responsibility

“I’ll Do It Later!” 6 Ways to Get Kids to Do Chores Now

By james lehman, msw.

boy doing his chores - washing the dishes

The idea that kids should learn to do chores for some abstract reason—like duty or responsibility—sounds good on paper, but has very little practical application in a child’s life. It just doesn’t work as a strategy.

But there are practical steps you can take to get your kids to do their chores.

Getting kids to do chores is one of the most common arguments families have. We yell at our child, “Why haven’t you cleaned your room yet?” while our child is on the couch watching YouTube, shouting back, “I’ll do it later!” Or they say nothing and just ignore us.

The choice shouldn’t be excitement or chore. The choice should be boredom or chore.

But the reason kids don’t like doing chores is the same reason adults don’t like doing chores: household tasks are generally boring. And most kids are not mature enough to understand that if they work quickly and finish their chores, they will be rewarded by getting back to their fun.

Instead, they pout, procrastinate, and drag their feet all to avoid 20 or 30 minutes of what is relatively easy work.

If you feel like you’re constantly nagging your kids to do their household chores, here are six practical steps you can take.

1. End the Distractions for Your Child

If your child is not doing his chores, you simply end whatever is distracting him. More than likely, this means the electronics get turned off. And they don’t come back on until the chores are done.

Then talk to him about it. But keep it brief. Ask him what he thinks is going on and what’s getting in the way of doing his assigned tasks.

Find out what his plans are after he’s finished. Motivate him to get the work done so that he can move on to what he wants to do.

Appealing to a child’s self-interests—rather than explaining the abstract concept of responsibility or duty—is generally much more effective for kids.

2. Set a Time Limit for Chores

Time limits are a good way to get your child to comply with doing chores. You can say:

“All right, the dishes have to be done in 20 minutes.”

If she hasn’t done them in 20 minutes, then your child’s bedtime is set earlier. Or she loses some electronics time. This creates a cost associated with her foot-dragging.

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The beauty of this system is that you’re not constantly nagging anymore. Instead, you’re just keeping time. You can even use a cooking timer with an alarm. The next night, you can say:

“Let’s not repeat what happened last night—remember, you didn’t enjoy going to bed earlier.” ‌ Another timing strategy parents can use is to motivate your child to compete with herself. You can say:

“Let’s see if you can get it done in 15 minutes tonight. But remember, you have to do it right. I’m going to check.”

You can even give her an incentive:

“If you get it done within 15 minutes, you can stay up 15 minutes later. Or you can stay online 15 minutes more.”

Then it becomes more exciting and stimulating for the child. While your child won’t lose anything if she doesn’t get the task done, she will gain something if she does.

This kind of reward system is always preferable to one in which the kid loses something because it’s more motivational and less punitive—you’re giving your child an incentive to do better.‌

3. Use an Allowance as Leverage

I think if parents are financially able to give kids an allowance, they should do it. And parents should make the allowance tied to their kids’ chores.

For example, if your child has to be told more than once to do his chores, he would lose a part of his allowance. Perhaps a dollar. And each time you remind him, he loses another dollar.

It is also appropriate to give that part of his allowance to a sibling who does the chore instead. This way, you’re not working on the chore, you’re working on the communications process, as well as your child’s motivation.

4. Create a Structure for Chores

Structure is essential when it comes to completing household tasks. I believe there should be a set time when chores are to be done.

Evenings are usually the best time for chores during the school year because doing chores in the morning just adds to the stress and intensity of getting to school on time. In the summer, though, I recommend doing chores in the morning to get them out of the way before the day starts.

In general, before the video games or any electronics go on, make it a rule that your child’s bed has to be made, his clothes should be in the hamper, and his room is tidy. This way, he’s starting to learn that his responsibilities have to be met before he can have free time.

Again, you never want to be pulling your child back from something exciting in order to do something mundane and boring. Rather, you want to get them to work through the mundane and boring things to get to something exciting. ‌ Sometimes as a parent, you have to ask yourself, “if my child isn’t doing his chores, what is he doing?” You really have to be aware of how your child is using his time. If he’s not doing his chores because he’s playing on the computer or reading a comic book, you’ve got to stop that pattern.

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In the end, the choice shouldn’t be excitement or chore . The choice should be boredom or chore . Kids have to understand that until chores are finished, they don’t get to have fun. No electronics until chores are done and no going out with friends until chores are done. The alternative to doing their chores needs to be boredom.

With this kind of structure in place, most kids will eventually choose to do their chores and then get on with the things that they want to do.

Finally, set aside time when all the kids in your family are doing their chores at once. So your 15-year-old might be unloading the dishwasher while your 11-year-old is taking out the garbage. That way, no one feels as if they’re missing out or being punished by having to complete their tasks. It’s just chore time.‌

5. Don’t Use Chores as a Punishment

Don’t use chores as a punishment or as a consequence. If somebody misbehaves and does something wrong, don’t give them a consequence of doing the dishes, for example. You want your child to learn that a chore is an expected responsibility to be done no matter what.

Only use chores as a consequence when your child does something wrong to another sibling. In order to make amends—to right the wrong—they do that person’s chore for them. That’s a physical way of saying, “I was wrong to do that, and I’m doing your chore to show you that I’m sincere.”

Related content: How to Give Kids Consequences That Work

6. Use a Reward System

If you want kids to take responsibility for their chores, integrate their tasks with a reward system. Put a chart on the refrigerator with each child’s name on it, with their chores listed next to their names. If they make their bed promptly and do it right, they get a checkmark. When they get five checkmarks, they get a reward. Maybe it’s staying up an hour later. Maybe it’s having more screen time one night.

In my opinion, electronics don’t have to be on every waking hour. Just because they have a phone or tablet doesn’t mean the child has to be using it all the time. Each child should get their allotted screen time, and then screen time is over. If they want more, they should have to earn it. This allows you to use electronics time as a reward.

Related content: Free Downloadable Chore Chart for Children

Kids might understand that doing the dishes is part of their role in the family, but they’re not going to feel it in some significant way. Chores are work, and in that sense, very few of us like to work unless we’re getting rewarded for it. And the reward has to be something we like.

If my boss had paid me in carrots, I wouldn’t have worked much at all—because one or two carrots and I’m all set. Kids have the same motivating principle. They want a reward in a currency that’s meaningful.

Getting your child to do chores becomes a battle when you allow it to grow into one. If you’re standing over your kids telling them over and over again to “empty the dishwasher, mow the lawn, clean the kitchen,” and they’re digging their heels in and still not complying, then you are in a battle. And as the parent, you need to end the battle.

If you don’t end the battle, you get caught in a nagging cycle. And the problem with nagging, of course, is that it doesn’t work. So, replace your nagging with the tips above and put an end to the chore battle once and for all.

Related content: Power Struggles: Are You at War with a Defiant Child? How to Create a Culture of Accountability in Your Home “My Kid Won’t Get Out of Bed” Stop the Morning Madness Now

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About James Lehman, MSW

James Lehman, who dedicated his life to behaviorally troubled youth, created The Total Transformation® , The Complete Guide to Consequences™ , Getting Through To Your Child™ , and Two Parents One Plan™ , from a place of professional and personal experience. Having had severe behavioral problems himself as a child, he was inspired to focus on behavioral management professionally. Together with his wife, Janet Lehman, he developed an approach to managing children and teens that challenges them to solve their own problems without hiding behind disrespectful, obnoxious or abusive behavior. Empowering Parents now brings this insightful and impactful program directly to homes around the globe.

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Indunil Your article was very helpful to me. Keep blogging.

help with the chores

I can understand your frustration. It can be difficult when your adult children are capable of helping out and choose not to. We have several articles that focus specifically on adult children living at home. You can find those here: https://www.empoweringparents.com/article-categories/ages-and-stages/adult-children/

We appreciate you sharing your story. Take care.

Hi, Carmine. Thank you for reaching out. We have several articles that offer useful tools and techniques for parenting a child with ODD. You can find those here: https://www.empoweringparents.com/article-categories/conditions-diagnoses/oppositional-defiant-disorder/.

We appreciate you being part of our Empowering Parents community. Be sure to check back and let us know how things are going.

Hi, Grace. There really isn't a right or wrong answer to that question. Each family is different and expectations around chores may not be the same from one family to the next. We do advise having kids do chores as this can help your child learn necessary skills of daily living and also helps to develop responsibility. Whether this is done every day, a few times a week, or only on the weekend depends on what will work best for your family.

I hope this helps to answer your question. Be sure to check back and let us know how things are going. Take care.

I deisagree with you on kids and chores a 100%!

No kids should NOT have regular chores. Kids are kids NOT mini adults and need childhoods! Play is the MOST IMPORTANT thing in childhood. Kids have school, homework, etc already. EVERYTHING they can learn with chores they can learn in other ways. Yes, we should teach kids skills, etc and its OK if they help once in a while but making them have chores on a regular basis is WRONG! I did not have chores as a kid and have NO problems as an adult, I thank my parents for giving me a CHILDHOOD. I do the same with my kids!

i disagree with you T.P. Kids can do chores AND play! even in my classroom, my students have classroom jobs (chores). we work together to keep OUR classroom neat and tidy. read below about the benefits of regular chores.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/the_benefits_of_chores_for_your_child

https://redtri.com/life-skills-learned-from-doing-chores/slide/1

KD am-----can you give me some insight on how you u use this in the classroom? Our school system is really struggling with helping me effectively with my son behavior at school

Familyof8 I have 5 tweens and teens living at home still and they were so good at getting their chores done, now it’s a struggle every day. Help!

ParentsOf6 Thank you for taking the time to share these tips...I found your article to be very helpful and eye-opening and will definitely be putting to use these suggestions. Thanks!

Responses to questions posted on EmpoweringParents.com are not intended to replace qualified medical or mental health assessments. We cannot diagnose disorders or offer recommendations on which treatment plan is best for your family. Please seek the support of local resources as needed. If you need immediate assistance, or if you and your family are in crisis, please contact a qualified mental health provider in your area, or contact your statewide crisis hotline.

We value your opinions and encourage you to add your comments to this discussion. We ask that you refrain from discussing topics of a political or religious nature. Unfortunately, it's not possible for us to respond to every question posted on our website.

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LIBRARY OF ARTICLES: : Responsibility and Chores :

Part i – benefits of chores, the chore conflict.

young boy sweeping hallway

“Just wait a minute. I promise – I’ll do it later.” “Aw Mom, do I have to??” “Angie doesn’t have to do this; why do I have to?”

How many times have you heard these refrains or something similar when you request your children to do a chore around the house? Chances are it has been often.

Children can be pros at procrastination, excuses, resistance and refusal when it comes to chores. This causes much concern among parents and conflict between children and their parents.

From the Child’s Point of View

Why children resist doing chores.

Part of the explanation rests with the very nature of children.

Young children and teens are:

lacking in judgment. Most young children have no idea how much work is involved with the running of a household.

impulsive. They want what they want when they want it. Working at activities that are not immediately gratifying to them is not inherently on their agenda.

self-absorbed and concerned mainly about themselves and their own needs. They do not naturally consider the needs and expectations of others.

What Is Needed to be Motivated

Doing chores willingly requires:

  • mature judgment,
  • less impulsivity,
  • and more awareness of others’ perspectives and needs.

Children are not born with these traits; they develop gradually as children grow and mature.

Part of your job as parents is to socialize your children during the 18 or 20 years that they live with you by helping them to develop these mature qualities. Therefore, it should not be a surprise, and perhaps you should accept and expect, that they resist helping at home.

<return to top of page

Is it Worth the Struggle?

Insisting that chores be completed can feel like a never-ending battle. Because it can feel like you are constantly reminding, nagging, or imposing consequences just to get your children to follow through, you may decide to let chores slide. It becomes easier in the short run to do the jobs yourself.

Parents may be reluctant to engage in continuous struggles for fear of damaging their relationship with their children.

They may feel guilty asking their children to help; after all, children are so busy with all the other demands on them from school, peers and extra-curricular activities that you may be reluctant to add to the pressures.

Parents may believe their little ones are too young to take on responsibilities, not realizing how capable their youngsters actually can be.

The Benefits of Chores

The research.

Even though it is more difficult at the time to persist in having children do chores, kids benefit from the experience.  

Research indicates that those children who do have a set of chores have higher self-esteem, are more responsible, and are better able to deal with frustration and delay gratification, all of which contribute to greater success in school.

  Furthermore, research by Marty Rossman* shows that involving children in household tasks at an early age can have a positive impact later in life. In fact, says Rossman, “the best predictor of young adults’ success in their mid-20’s was that they participated in household tasks when they were three or four.”  

Life Skills

Doing chores gives a child the opportunity to give back to their parents for all you do for them. Kids begin to see themselves as important contributors to the family. They feel a connection to the family.

Holding them accountable for their chores can increase a sense of themselves as responsible and actually make them more responsible . Children will feel more capable for having met their obligations and completed their tasks.

One of the most frequently sited causes of over-indulgence stems from parents doing too much for their children and not expecting enough of them. Not being taught the skills of everyday living can limit children’s ability to function at age appropriate levels.

For example:

5-year-old Sara goes to kindergarten and is one of the few students who has no idea how to put on and button her own coat. Sam, age 7, goes to a friend’s house for dinner but does not know how to pour juice for himself. Fast forward to Beth who at age 18 goes away to college not knowing how to do her own laundry.

By expecting children to complete self-care tasks and to help with household chores, parents equip children with the skills to function independently in the outside world.

With only so many hours in a day, parents need to help children decide how to spend their time and to determine what is most important.

  • Self-Esteem

If you let children off the hook for chores because they have too much schoolwork or need to practice a sport, then you are saying, intentionally or not, that their academic or athletic skills are most important.

And if your children fail a test or fail to block the winning shot, then they have failed at what you deem to be most important. They do not have other pillars of competency upon which to rely.

By completing household tasks, they may not always be the star student or athlete, but they will know that they can contribute to the family, begin to take care of themselves, and learn skills that they will need as an adult.

Setting the Tone

Role modeling.

In addition to being steadfast in the belief that it is important to have children complete chores, your attitudes can help set the tone that will increase possible cooperation in your household. You can consider how you look at your “chores” – you are your children’s most important role model.

help with the chores

You can send the message that chores are a bore and something to be avoided at all costs.

Conversely, you can send the message that these are the tasks that need to be completed in order for your household to run smoothly and that everyone in the family is encouraged and expected to participate.

Encouraging Participation

Young children naturally want to be a part of the family and want to help. Ideally, you will encourage their participation (even if it takes more work on your part in the short run).

By the age of three, youngsters can be assigned their own tasks, for which they are responsible, such as pulling up the sheets on their bed or placing the napkins on the table or sorting the laundry.

The size of the task does not matter; the responsibility associated with it does.

Assigning Chores

For those parents who did not begin a chore regimen when their kids were little, you can still start a plan now. You can take some time to think about what tasks you need help with, what life skills your children need to learn, and what are each child’s interests and abilities.  

Consider these Questions

What chores do you want completed in your home?

Are the ones already selected the best fit for each of your children and ones that are most meaningful to the running of your household?

Are there life skills that a particular child needs to learn?

Do you want to tie allowance to chore completion?

Ask for Input

As you contemplate these decisions, you can ask your children for their input. Children are more cooperative when they have a say. Also, brainstorm ideas for overcoming any obstacles you have faced in the past, such as children not following through, arguing, or not doing a thorough job.

Hold Family Meetings

Many parents hold a family meeting to discuss chores and when and how they will be starting, revising, or re-instating them. Such times together can build morale, improve relationships, and facilitate creative problem solving.

Update your Chore Plan

Some families use birthdays as natural markers for examining what responsibilities as well as what privileges their children are receiving.  

Other, naturally occurring breaks that lend themselves to instituting or revisiting a chore plan include the beginning or end of the school year or returning from vacations.  

One question that parents frequently ask is whether allowance should be tied to the completion of chores. This is a personal call, with experts weighing in on both sides.  

Option 1 – Do Chores to Earn Allowance

Some parents feel quite resentful of handing their children money if the youngsters do not assist with the running of the household.

For these parents, the money is an incentive for a job well done. Just as adults must learn to complete a job satisfactorily in order to be paid, some parents want to instill that same work ethic in their children.

Under these circumstances, parents would want to pay the child an allowance as compensation for a job well done.

Option 2 – Chores and Allowance are Separate

Other parents want their children to help around the house as a contributing member of the family , not because there is money or other external rewards associated with it.

These families believe that it takes a lot of effort for a household to function smoothly and that their children should participate without pay because they are a part of the family.

In addition, some families want their children to learn to be financially responsible and are concerned that if the chores are not satisfactorily completed, then their children will not receive pay and will not have the opportunity to budget or make spending choices.

For either of the above reasons, these families may want to separate chore completion from allowance.

Option 3 – Earn Privileges

One alternative to paying money may be to have children earn privileges for completing their chores .

For example, a teen may earn the right to use the car on the weekends by washing the automobile. A school-age child may earn the privilege to have friends over to play if he throws away the trash and puts away the games after a previous gathering.

Revisiting Allowance

Providing an allowance and under what circumstances is an individual decision, one that parents can revisit and alter during any of the re-evaluation sessions they hold as a family.

Be convinced of the importance of chores in developing your children’s character. If you firmly believe in their value, you will communicate this message to your children and you will be less likely to give in to their delay tactics or resistance.

Consider how you look at your “chores” – you are your children’s most important role model. As such, they will watch you and decide if responsibilities are met with acceptance and grace or with resentment and anger.

Make chores a regular part of the family routine – it is expected that everyone over the age of 3 will be responsible for certain tasks to keep the household functioning.

Decide if allowance will be given for the completion of chores.

Children may not thank you in the short term for giving them chores. This is a case where the goal is not necessarily to make your children happy; rather it is to teach them life skills and a sense of responsibility that will last a lifetime.

____________________________________________________________

  For more information about children and chores, check out the following books. Purchasing from Amazon.com through our website supports the work we do to help parents do the best job they can to raise their children.

How Much is Enough? by Jean Illsley Clarke

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The Best Chores for Teens—and How to Get Your Kid to Do Them

Experts share their best chore ideas for teens, plus tips and apps designed for getting older kids to help out around the house with (hopefully) minimum resistance.

Let's face it, getting teenagers to volunteer to do dreaded chores was never easy. But now, more than ever, parents can use a helping hand, especially if you've cut expenses and are doing more around the house by yourself these days. The good news? Older kids want to help, says workplace expert and mom Erica Keswin , and "identifying chores to have teens help around the house can lead to family harmony, which—believe it or not—isn't a total oxymoron."

Not sure where to start? Don't worry; we've got you covered. Read on to learn tips and great advice for getting your teens to help around the house.

Starting the Chore Talk With Teens

First, try rebranding as you start to have discussions about things your teen can help with around the house. "Chores have a negative connotation, no matter who is doing them!" says Susan G. Groner of The Parenting Mentor . Keswin likes to recast chores into family "rituals" to help teens feel connected to a force larger than themselves; Groner favorably calls them family "contributions."

Then, instead of simply delegating tasks, Groner recommends sitting down together to discuss how everyone needs to chip in. "Together, create a list of everything that needs to be accomplished at home from buying groceries to feeding the dog, to doing laundry or dishes, to watering plants, and everything in between," says Groner. "Chances are, your kids don't even realize how long that list will be." Then let your big kids choose what tasks they want to try out. Remember, these don't need to be their jobs for life; try meeting again in another week or so to find out what went well and what some of the challenges were.

Groner also suggests putting some parameters around the timing for each item on the list so that you don't have to nag (we know, we know....). "You don't want to be the chore warden, and if interaction from start to finish is respectful towards your children, they will appreciate it," says Groner.

Keeping Kids Accountable with Chore Apps

"As my own daughter becomes older," explains parenting expert Joy Altimare of EHE Health , "we've graduated from color-coded chore charts to more digital options that can help her understand the relationship between chores and their financial impact." (While there are arguments on both sides regarding paying children for chores, we're assuming here having an allowance and chores interconnect for teens.)

Many of the experts we spoke to suggest using technology to create reminders. "Let them come up with their own ideas, like setting an alarm on their phone," suggests Groner. Another idea: Utilize new chore apps with the added bonus of streamlining allowance payments and creating virtual chore charts.

Here are a few designed specifically for teens to consider:

This debit card app for kids that parents manage can build a chore tracker function so that you pay the allowance after activities are completed. In addition, you can decide with your teen to put a portion of their payments into savings, put aside for charity, or go into spending.

Cost: $5 a month and includes debit cards for up to five kids

Altimare recommends this app which, she says, is simple to us: "I assign the chore and includes what it's worth. She completes the chore, taps on the dashboard indicating that she's completed it, and then once I approve it, the money is transferred to one of several buckets: her allowance bucket (accounts), her savings or donation (for charities) bucket or to spend now."

Note: This app specifically says it's good for up to age 16, and some teens may bristle at the "kid" in the moniker.

Cost: $4 per month, billed annually

A website, mobile app, and debit card that allows parents to set up automatic allowances or tasks and chores for their children to earn extra money. It's an easy way for parents to teach teens financial responsibility and independence, all while keeping them safe from the danger of debt.

Cost: $4.99 per child per month. You can add up to 4 accounts.

Best Chore Ideas for Teens

After you've figured out a way to talk to teens about helping with chores and discovered ways to keep them accountable you reach the good part: Getting the help around the house you deserve!

Here are some top chore suggestions for teens from our panel of experts. But before you get started, plan a sit down with your young adults and discuss your household needs. When tasks coincide with their interests and skills, you're guaranteed to create a plan that works for your family.

Vacuuming, mopping, dusting

You can break this trifecta of clean-ups into separate chores, but maybe let your teen try out all three and see if there's something they're better at or like more. You may want to point out, says Keswin, that the All Blacks, New Zealand's famously fierce rugby team, all participate in a ritual called "Sweep the Shed," or cleaning the locker room, behind the scenes.

Taking out the garbage and recycling

Taking out the trash was the number one chore request we heard from parents we spoke with.

It's a relatively easy "one and done" task to get teens started and is a good one for a phone app reminder since it happens on a regular weekly schedule.

Room clean up

A classic request from parents everywhere: Clean up your room!

Try breaking this down into smaller chores for better results: Make your bed (either just straightening it every day or changing the sheets once a week), get rid of clutter, vacuum their own space, or clean their own bathroom if they have one.

This is a skill they truly can't live without once they leave home. Start by having them choose one day that's "their" laundry day so they can keep track.

Sorting is important if they don't want to wear pink T-shirts for the rest of high school. Do you want them to fold it, too? Make sure you're clear.

"Teens should be in charge of putting away their own laundry so they can't blame anyone else (read: their parents) when they can't find their soccer jersey for the away game," says Keswin.

Kitchen duty

Setting the table, clearing the table. Too easy? How about loading and unloading the dishwasher? Up the ante and add washing pots, and dinner may suddenly be parents' most relaxing time in the house.

A few other ideas:

  • Separate food scraps for the compost (if you use one)
  • Put leftovers away
  • Sweep the floor after dinner
  • Wipe down counters and cupboards

Outdoor maintenance

Mowing the lawn and shoveling the walk are two time-honored ways for teens to make extra cash by offering their services to neighbors. If you have a home that needs outdoor care, there's no reason this shouldn't be on the table, too.

Here are a few more ideas:

  • Help water and/or weed the garden (if you have one)
  • Rake leaves
  • Skim debris from the pool (if you have one)
  • Help an adult clear gutters

Dog walking and pet care

If we had a dollar for every time a parent said to us, "My child promised to walk the dog when they asked for a puppy, and now I'm the only one who does it," we'd be able to buy everything at the pet store!

Animal-loving teens are more than capable and often willing to take on the task of keeping their living creatures fed and comfortable. Here are some simple tasks they can try:

  • Walk the family dog (and scoop the poop!)
  • Maintain clean water and food for pets
  • Clean your pet's space (cage, crate, or bedding)

Does your teen have a signature dish? Do they love to experiment in the kitchen? If they're culinarily minded, have them take over dinner once a week or make lunch for the family on weekends.

Try breaking up the chore of "cooking dinner" into a series of steps like menu planning and grocery shopping with a parent, cooking, and cleaning up.

Babysitting

Is hanging out with younger siblings a chore? Probably, if you ask a teen, but as part of family responsibilities, we think this is a top priority. Plus, says parenting expert Reena Patel , it's one of the most important ways of teaching responsibility and caring for others.

The Bottom Line

Whether you call it a "chore" or a "contribution," your teen is old enough to help with more significant responsibilities, which can help them prepare for adulthood. Talk to your teen, and together figure out a plan that feels appropriate and makes everyone feel respected. Remember, chores don't have to feel like a punishment for your teen (or you!).

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10 Tips for Letting Your Kids Help with Chores

Getting kids to help out around the house with chores can feel like an overwhelming task at times. Very rarely do kids offer to clean up the playroom, put dishes away or walk the dog. However, kids are naturally curious, want to spend time with their parents, and love helping out in the right circumstances. Today, we have Creative Team member Jake Smith, Washington farmer and dad of four, here sharing 1o tips for letting your kids help with the chores. Whether you’re on a farm, in the city or anywhere in between, these tips are great ways to incorporate fun, learning, and responsibility into your chores and projects. Before you know it, you might even start to like doing chores with your kids! 

10 Tips for letting your kids help with chores

10 tips for letting kids help with chores

Currently, our family lives on a small farm in Washington State where there is an abundance of daily chores.  Staying on top of all the chores around a farm is no small task.  Some days when I call on my kids to help out, I’m not exactly met with joyous, excited replies. So, I decided to dig a little deeper to figure out how to make doing something monotonous a little less so.

I make no claims to be an expert on the subject of getting kids to help with chores. However, I feel like writing these 10 chore tips is as much for myself as it is for the kids because it’s so easy to get impatient and just revert to the classic, “fine, I’ll do it myself!” manta. At the very least I’m here to provide a glimpse of hope that doing chores with your kids can be fun, rewarding, and will set them up to become capable and creative problem solvers.

You don’t have to live on a farm to teach kids about responsibility and helping out with chores. We haven’t always lived on a farm. Just a few years ago we lived in the suburbs and were able to experiment with and apply many of these same principles successfully. I hope you’ll be able to apply some of these tips to your situation, wherever you live and whatever the chores are. 

1. Make it fun

I can’t stress enough how important it is to make helping out with chores fun for the kids. If there’s only one tip you take away from this post and forget the rest, this is that tip. I won’t lie, there are plenty of chores I don’t enjoy doing. Why would I expect my kids would miraculously love doing the things I dislike? They share my DNA after all, chances are we’ve got more than a couple of similarities.

However, when we need to get some work done, it helps tremendously to find a way to incorporate a little fun into the chore. If we’re dreading the chore or if it’s bordering on the mundane, we pump the jams and do dance silly dances while we work. We sing songs or tell each other jokes. Whatever it takes to get excited that day. And while I’m not saying you should bribe your kids, if you happen to have some popsicles you were planning to dole out later that day anyway, maybe some correlation between work done and a reward isn’t a bad thing. Particularly, when they’re struggling to get excited about cleaning up the living room…

Tips for getting the kids to help with chores

2. Offer choices

When getting kids to help with chores, I’ve learned some days they just need options. Kids like feeling like they have some control and say in the decision-making process. If there are multiple chores that need to be done, I give them a choice. Do you want to help feed the chickens or the cows today? Some days they’ll choose the chickens, some days they’ll choose the cows, others they want to do both and we have to decide which to do first. However, we are all susceptible to choice overload so I try not to offer them more than two or three options at a time.

For many of our farm chores, they aren’t big enough yet to do things on their own, so they assist me. It’s not the end of the world if I don’t have helpers. However, it certainly makes it more fun for me when they tag along, carry what they can, and ask a million questions. Before I even realize it, they’re able to do a little more, then a little more. Eventually, they take over a task from me entirely. It’s a beautiful process to observe and bittersweet as they get older. 

how to make chores fun for kids

3. Follow their interests

Following our kids’ interests is more than a small part of why we have our farm. I’m willing to bet our kids were partially influenced by our desire for living the farm life, but regardless, while we were living in the suburbs, farming is what they played, drew, and talked about every day. We worked and sacrificed in other areas of our lives to make finding our farm a priority. A place where the kids could explore their interests and space to develop new ones.

For you and your kids, it may be something other than farming. Maybe it’s sports, going camping, biking, animals, art, etc. Every one of our kids has slightly different interest areas. Our oldest LOVES her chickens. At eight years old she knows more about birds of every type than I do, no joke. Going and collecting eggs, making sure waterers are filled, and checking to be sure everyone looks healthy isn’t even thought of as a chore to her. She loves it. Our kids don’t think about their interest areas being work, they just wake up and want to go do them. Unfortunately, things like unloading the dishwasher and taking out the trash rarely fall into this category so you may have to rely on one of the other ten tips for those guys. 

Giving kids chores based on their interests

4. Create a daily chore routine

Kids love routine and knowing what to expect. Every day, we try to do roughly the same chores, in the same order, at the same time of day. It gives the kids some consistency and helps with transitions. The kids now know that when I’m finishing up filling waterers for one group of chickens, we will be transitioning to filling buckets of water to pack to another group of chickens further away. They can anticipate the next move, so they run into the barn and argue about whose turn it is to hold the hose to fill the buckets that day. By the time I’ve reached the hydrant, there’s usually one of them holding the other end of the hose ready to fill the water buckets up.

Some of these chores were never ones that I specifically asked them to do or help out with. I just went about my daily chore routine, they followed along and picked up on it. They saw places where they could jump in and help out, based on our routine. Certainly, our chores don’t all happen this seamlessly, and even this example has breakdowns regularly when they can’t agree on whose turn it is to hold the hose. That’s just life. 

Chore routines and chore advice for kids

5. Make it a learning experience

We homeschool our kids and consider our farm part of the learning experience. Farm life is a natural progression to ask questions and invite curiosity. While we’re doing our chores, we like asking the kids leading questions that get their brains thinking about life on the farm. “Hmm, interesting this chicken egg is green, do you know why that is?” “Why do you think the cows chose to eat this variety of grass but didn’t touch that grass over there?” “Wow, the moon is super orange tonight, what do you think causes that?”

Chances are, I don’t actually know the answers to most of these wonderings, either. But that’s ok. Because we’ve fostered that childlike wonder about everything, the kids are asking me what seems like a million questions a day about things I’ve never even considered. I’ll ask them to keep that question and we’ll look it up when we get back into the house. Every evening we’re looking up answers and learning together. They’re so excited about the things they’re learning, seeing, and exploring they don’t even notice we’re getting chores done at the same time.

Getting kids to help out with chores around the house

6. Lead by example

Kids are observant. Sometimes, they’re a lot more observant than I want them to be. My attitude about a certain task is almost always replicated in my children. If I’m going to have a bad attitude about going out and shoveling snow in the dark for the fifth time this week, there’s absolutely no chance they’re going to want to join me and help out. They may come out and sled down the hill while I shovel, but there’s no way they’re going to help me shovel because I’ve told them it’s terrible either in my body language or in word. Why would they willingly want to do something they know I don’t enjoy?

However, if I make it fun (see tip #1) for myself, chances are it’ll make it fun for them too. We’ve had many snow shoveling competitions to see who can clear the most snow the fastest. The clear winner? Me. 😉

Tips for getting kids to help do chores

7. Let them take ownership of their areas

This tip fully belongs to my wife, I can’t take credit for it. We were struggling so much with getting the kids to help out regularly with household chores; unloading the dishwasher, cleaning the bathroom, setting/clearing the table, etc. You know, the ones you just sort of do over and over and over again all the time endlessly? We tried assigning chore charts for these. Then we tried a weekly rotating chore assignment. Then we tried no chore charts. You name it, we tried it. No luck.

Kicking and screaming fits regularly lasted longer than doing the actual chore would have taken. Finally, in order to get the kids to help with chores, my wife got the idea to try letting each of the kids have “their areas” of ownership. Areas of the house that involved certain tasks they could become experts in and take pride of ownership around. If the bathroom is clean, I know to comment to my oldest about how great it looks. If the front entryway has all the shoes put away and I can actually walk through it without tripping, I know kid #3 has worked her magic and to tell her thank you. 

How to make chores fun for kids

8. Include them in whatever you happen to be doing

Even though I’m a farmer, I still work my normal 8-5, off-farm job just like everyone else. So, when I’m home in the evenings or on the weekends I like to spend time with my family. Shocker, right? Rather than making all the farm work another thing keeping me away from my wife and kids, we’ve worked to turn chore time into family time.

Kids have a natural curiosity and love for helping out. Just by tagging along in whatever I happen to be doing, they’re observing and learning from me constantly. A lot of the time we gather eggs together, if someone gets a particularly pretty egg they’ll exclaim and show the rest of the family. When we go load haybales for wintertime feed, the whole family comes along. Sure, I do all the work at present while my wife drives the pickup, but they’re observing and learning. In a few years when they’re strong enough to help out, they’ll do so excitedly and the learning curve will be small. 

Spend more time with you kids while doing chores

9. Expect them to be beginners

I know this one sounds pretty straightforward but for some reason, it wasn’t easy for me to realize they have never done…well, anything really. Maybe because they’re kids? Like I said in the beginning, I’m not an expert in this parenting business. Maybe I’m the slow learner? But I had to learn to just let them be terrible and take forever at first. Would it have been easier and quicker to just do some tasks myself? Yes, absolutely. And at first, I would do just that. I would take over and complete it myself.

However, now I’m slowly learning to just let them be terrible, to let them learn, to figure it out through some guided trial and error. It’s going to be terrible the first time anyone does anything. The tenth time? A little less terrible. The hundredth time? They might have it down pretty good by then. By providing your kids with a safe space to try, fail, and try again, they’ll learn over time they can figure most anything out and won’t be afraid to take the chance to try. This is probably one of the most empowering things I’ve done for my kids. 

Chore ideas for kids on the farm

10. Have patience with them

Having patience with the kids as they figure out how to help with chores goes hand-in-hand with tip #9. Like I said in the beginning, I’m no expert at this. I’m trying to figure it out at the same time. But, I have noticed one thing, if I’m grumpy or short with my kids while they’re doing their best to help me out, you can rest assured they’re not going to enjoy doing that task again the next time. I try to always be conscious of my attitude and my demeanor, especially around them. It may seem like craziness but I find at least 50% of my kids’ attitude around anything in life directly reflects my own attitude. In reality, it’s probably much higher.

As parents to our precious little children, we’re their whole world. They’re taking in, learning, and figuring out everything through us. It’s all new. They look to us to mimic what to do, how to react, how to feel. So, having patience with them means having patience with myself, and understanding the much greater goal is not to have accomplished my to-do list successfully at the end of the day. The goal is to have lived a life worth living, to have loved my family unconditionally, and to have mattered to those around me.

How do you get your kids to help with chores?

help with the chores

About the author

Jake and his wife Jessica are raising four adorable children on Blackridge Farms in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest. Jake enjoys any time spent on the farm taking care of their various animals and seeing how quickly the kids learn to care for and love their animals. He bounces back and forth between the farm and his 9-5 while Jessica shoulders the bulk of responsibility of homeschooling the kids, keeping the house in order, and keeping a watchful eye on the farm in Jake’s absence. While he has one foot dipped in the 1800s, the other foot has danced around the marketing and tech fields where Jake has worked as a Graphic Designer, Digital Designer, and most recently a User Experience Designer. Beyond those pre-packaged titles, Jake is a creative dreamer with an entrepreneurial streak that believes in the power of one’s mindset, time spent with loved ones, and real, healthy food.

You can find more from Jake online in the following locations: Instagram: @blackridgefarms Website: Black Ridge Farms

You may also like this post on Cattle Farm Chores for Kids .

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The photos of these children running around in the farms, helping their parents and showering love on their farm animals are so endearing. Over the lockdown, my children learned to clean up after they completed their DIY craft projects. That itself was a great help for me.

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A List of Age-Appropriate Chores for Kids 2 to 18

Even kids can help around the household with simple chores for every year

Becky Rapinchuk is a natural cleaning expert, home-keeping expert, and founder of the lifestyle brand, Clean Mama. She has published 4 best-selling books on cleaning.

help with the chores

​The Spruce / Michelle Becker

Ages 2 and 3

Ages 4 and 5, ages 6 to 8, ages 9 to 12, ages 13 to 18, what to avoid when making chore lists.

Assigning chores to children can be beneficial to their development. Children who regularly do chores tend to have higher self-esteem, be more patient, and be better equipped to handle frustration and responsibility. These skills can lead to greater success in various aspects of life, such as school, work, and relationships.

The complexity of these chores naturally varies per age. The chores a 3-year-old typically has are tiny fixes like putting toys away. By contrast, the chores a 12-year-old would be best at are more involved, such as operating appliances and cleaning entire rooms. Use this list of chores as a guideline when creating age-appropriate chore charts for your children.

Toddlers love to help with chores and while their help may not always be as helpful as we would hope, keeping their excitement and the habit of helping alive is worth the extra effort. Lots of toddlers love to see a visual reminder of their success, so making sticker charts is a great choice. Although chores may only be completed with your help each step of the way, you are creating positive habits for children to find chores and helping others a way of life.

  • Helping make the bed
  • Picking up toys and books
  • Putting laundry in the hamper or in the laundry room
  • Helping to feed pets
  • Helping to wipe up messes
  • Dusting with socks on their hands
  • Putting small items in a dishwasher
  • Dry mopping in small areas with help to maneuver the mop

The Spruce / Xiaojie Liu

The great thing about preschool-aged kids is that they are still fairly motivated to help. Preschoolers also love individual time with adults. If you take some time to teach them new chores one on one, they usually love it. Many kids at this age are ready to do chores without constant supervision. They also love rewards. Try using a daily chore chart with stickers that allows them to build up to bigger rewards. For some preschoolers, tying chores to an allowance is a great choice. This can also foster independence by allowing them to choose a reward.

  • Helping to clear and set the table
  • Making bed independently
  • Helping out to cook and prepare food
  • Carrying and putting away groceries
  • Sorting laundry whites and colors
  • Watering plants using a small container
  • Pulling garden weeds
  • Washing small dishes at the sink
  • Helping to clean their own room
  • Putting away groceries

Although enthusiasm for chores may diminish for school-aged kids, they have other redeeming qualities that work well for chores. Most school-aged children have an overwhelming desire to be independent. Parents and caregivers can guide children to become self-sufficient in their chores by using chore charts to keep track of their responsibilities. Note completed tasks as this will help motivate children to continue working.

  • Taking care of pets
  • Vacuuming , sweeping, and mopping
  • Taking out ​the trash
  • Folding and putting away laundry
  • Making their own snacks, breakfast, and bagged lunches
  • Emptying and loading the dishwasher
  • Walking the dog with pooper-scooper supervision
  • Raking leaves

Kids at this age will appreciate a set schedule and expectations. Throw a lot of unexpected work at them and watch them get upset. If you can create a schedule or system with a little input from them, you'll have a smooth transition. It's best to find a system that works for your family. Try not to change it without the input and support of the people it directly affects. Part of this system should address rewards and negative consequences so that these results are laid out and understood in advance.

  • Helping to wash the car
  • Learning to wash dishes or load an entire dishwasher
  • Helping to prepare simple meals.
  • Cleaning smaller areas of the bathroom
  • Raking more leaves
  • Operating the washer and dryer
  • Taking out the garbage
  • Babysitting younger siblings (11-12)
  • Walking the dog and full pooper-scooper responsibility

Most teenagers are capable of handling nearly any chore in the home as long as they've been taught properly. One thing to be sensitive to is the cramped schedule of teenagers. Just as we get overwhelmed when we have too much to do, teenagers can find themselves struggling to maintain an unmanageable workload. Monitor your teen's schedule and school commitments; adjust activities and chores accordingly.

  • Replacing light bulbs
  • Cleaning bathrooms including toilets and showers
  • Vacuuming, changing vacuum cleaner bags, or emptying the canister
  • Doing their own (or the family's) laundry
  • Washing windows
  • Cleaning out​ the refrigerator and other kitchen appliances
  • Preparing meals
  • Preparing grocery lists
  • Repairing clothes such as sewing on missing buttons or fixing small tears
  • Ironing clothes
  • Mowing the lawn
  • Caring for pets completely (feeding, walking, grooming)
  • Setting and clearing the table

Keep in mind that children mature at their own pace and not all kids will be capable of advanced chores at the same age. Likewise, some children may be ready for more difficult chores at a younger age. You are in the best position to supervise and evaluate your child’s needs and abilities. You can advance children through more challenging chores as they master the basic ones. It can be easy to let kids continue to perform the same chores because they're good at them, but introducing new chores at regular intervals will actually benefit them in the long term. Institute a "training period" with new chores while teaching them the ins and outs of new tasks.

The list of things to avoid when making chore lists can often be longer than the chore list itself. Consider the following when creating chore lists for kids of any age:

Do Not Start Too Late

Kids can start doing chores as early as two years old. At that point, kids love to help out parents and family members.

Do Not Make Chores Complicated

If you're in a rush, your chore list may not be clear to a child. Your handwriting may be messy or the instructions are confusing, causing a kid to zone out. The fix? Use easy-to-read picture chore cards. For example, if you are posting a vacuuming chore, print out a basic image of a vacuum and stick it on the chart.

Do Not Change Schedules Too Often

Kids thrive on consistency. They need to know what to expect from their daily lives. A consistent schedule of chores can help your child become an expert on how to handle that particular duty. It can give your child the chance to become good at a particular chore rather than trying to learn a new one every week.

Avoid Becoming a Perfectionist

Absolutely no one is perfect and that's the message you need to instill in your child. If you insist on perfectionism, your child will rebel against doing any chores. When a child finishes a chore that's less than acceptable in your eyes, simply turn it into a teaching moment and gently show them the correct way.

Do Not Use Lists to Control Kids

Chores are boring, but they are not meant to torture or control kids. The point of a chore list is to help kids learn to become accountable and responsible as they grow older. The fix? Help them become excited about chores by using small, simple rewards as an incentive to adhere to the chore chart. Large and complicated rewards will confuse kids (and yourself) so keep it super easy with coins or small rewards, such as staying up a half hour later for completing a specific chore.

Do Not Forget to Say Thanks

Giving your child a genuine smile and a verbal thank you goes a long way. It shows how much you appreciate your child's efforts. By expressing thanks to them, your kids will feel more capable when it comes to accomplishing everyday tasks, and will encourage them to be part of the family, a team, and the community.

Assigning chores to children teaches them responsibility, instills self-confidence, and helps them grow and learn how to take of themselves and the family home. Research shows it readies them for being grown-ups and on their own and has an overall positive impact on their well-being.

Start giving them small chores when they're toddlers. Have them help put away their toys and pick up clothes. Kids at the age of two and three just love to help their parents and siblings.

Using sticker charts and chore charts works well in showing your kids what they've accomplished. A sticker chart is great for younger children from two to five, while a chore chart might work better for ages six to nine.

Chores and Children . American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

White EM, DeBoer MD, Scharf RJ. Associations Between Household Chores and Childhood Self-Competency . J Dev Behav Pediatr. , no. 40, vol. 3, 2019, pp. 176-182. doi:10.1097/DBP.0000000000000637

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Raising Kids Who Help With Chores

MARIA GODOY, HOST:

This is NPR's LIFE KIT. I'm Maria Godoy. For years, my friend and colleague Michaeleen Doucleff has been telling me about some cool research that has changed the way I parent my kids. And the result is children who are much more eager to pitch in and help out around the house. For instance, the other night, my 7-year-old daughter, Lily, made a potato salad for dinner completely voluntarily, and she even washed the dishes. Michaeleen has now written a parenting book called "Hunt, Gather, Parent." And in this episode of LIFE KIT, Michaeleen joins me to talk about how to raise helpful and cooperative kids. Welcome, Michaeleen

MICHAELEEN DOUCLEFF, BYLINE: Hi, Maria.

GODOY: So first, we should say that we're both moms. Besides Lily, I have a son, Noah, who's almost 11. And, Michaeleen, Rosy is what now - 5?

DOUCLEFF: Yeah, she's 5.

GODOY: And we both work on NPR's Science Desk. So we always, always want to know what the research says about everything, including parenting, of course.

DOUCLEFF: Oh, gosh. You know, Maria, I'm actually trained as a chemist. So when I became a mom, I was totally into science-based parenting. But then a few years ago, I stumbled on some research that really shifted how I thought about parenting. The research looked at how moms and dads around the world raise helpful kids. We're talking about kids like Lily, who do the dishes without being asked, kids who share a candy bar with a sibling before taking a bite themselves.

GODOY: So really considerate kids who do chores around the house without an allowance or punishment.

DOUCLEFF: No bribes or punishments needed - not even a chore chart. Many cultures don't struggle to raise helpful kids. And recently, scientists have documented a few common practices that parents all around the world use to instill this quality in children.

GODOY: And I want to say, I've actually tried these, and they work. So today on LIFE KIT, Michaeleen and I are going to share what we've learned, how parents can nurture helpfulness in their kids and what practices can erode or even extinguish the desire to help. All that and more after the break.

All right, so we're going to start with something kids everywhere have in common.

DOUCLEFF: Yes. If you look all over the world, kids ages about 5 and younger have one common characteristic. Actually, I'll let Rosy tell you about it. This is when she was about 2 1/2.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

DOUCLEFF: OK, Rosemary, do you like to help around the house with chores?

ROSY: Yeah.

DOUCLEFF: What do you like to help with?

ROSY: Pancakes.

DOUCLEFF: Making pancakes?

DOUCLEFF: Yeah. What else? Is there anything else you like to help?

ROSY: Wash.

DOUCLEFF: Wash the dishes?

DOUCLEFF: Yeah.

GODOY: Oh, my God. That little voice. She's so sweet. Yeah, young kids love to help.

DOUCLEFF: Exactly. And that's our first takeaway. From Chicago to Jinai (ph), kids are born assistants. They want to help you. They want to do chores. That's universal. And if you push that help away, then look out.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHILD WHINING)

GODOY: Oh, yeah. I remember those days.

DOUCLEFF: Oh, me, too. When Rosy wanted to help, I would tell her to go play, and she would not like it.

GODOY: You know, that's exactly what I did with my older kid, Noah. And whenever he wanted to help make dinner or do the dishes when he was little, I just shooed him away. I said, go play Legos or something.

DOUCLEFF: And I'll admit it; I would sometimes put on cartoons because Rosy would just slow me down.

GODOY: Or make a mess or break something.

DOUCLEFF: Yep. Sometimes I would even wait to do chores while Rosy was napping or after she went to bed. Then I started to learn about some remarkable research from a psychologist at California State University, Fullerton.

LUCIA ALCALA: All right. So my name is Lucia Alcala.

DOUCLEFF: For more than a decade, Alcala has been studying how children learn to help around the house. She studies families both in the U.S. and in Mexico with several different backgrounds. She says that although young kids everywhere want to help, what's not universal is how parents respond to that help.

ALCALA: How we push them away or we, you know, encourage that is very different.

GODOY: So in other words, if I'm washing dishes after dinner and Lily comes over and grabs a sponge from my hand, it matters how I respond to her.

DOUCLEFF: Right. Your response may be key to whether or not Lily, when she's 12, still wants to help with the dishes or just rolls her eyes when you ask.

GODOY: Interesting. So very long-term stakes here.

DOUCLEFF: Alcala and her team have asked this type of question to parents in several studies. In some cultures, both here in the U.S. and in Mexico, some mothers say...

ALCALA: What they said was, you know, I don't allow her to help me because I know she's not going to do a competent job, and that's just going to create more work for me, so excluding them from helping because they're not competent yet.

DOUCLEFF: Alcala says this excluding kids from chores can have negative consequences, especially over time. It can erode a child's willingness to help.

GODOY: Because it essentially tells the child, chores and helping aren't for you.

DOUCLEFF: Exactly. And so that's our second takeaway. If a child shows interest in a chore, no matter their age, resist that urge to shoo them away or exclude them. Alcala has even demonstrated the importance of this effect in a study in California. She created a task for siblings to work on together.

ALCALA: We created a table-top model grocery store.

DOUCLEFF: Then she brought the store to 30 families' homes, each with siblings ages 6 to 10. The group was a mix of families with European heritage and ones with Mexican Indigenous heritage.

GODOY: Indigenous heritage like the Maya?

DOUCLEFF: Yes, like Maya or Nahua.

GODOY: Which is cool because my grandma was actually Maya.

DOUCLEFF: I did not know that.

GODOY: Yup, true story. Anyway, keep going.

DOUCLEFF: So then Alcala asked the pairs of siblings to plan an efficient route through the store. And she told them...

ALCALA: To work together, to collaborate, help each other - very specific instructions. And we thought, you know, both groups were going to collaborate equally because it was so clear on the instructions.

DOUCLEFF: But with some siblings, that's not always what happened. She remembers one little boy who was always being shooed away by his older sibling when he tried to help.

ALCALA: And so what happens in that particular pair and I think in other pairs was that after they tried for a while, they kind of lose interest. So in one case, the younger sibling just goes under the table and kind of gives up. In another case, he just, you know, goes away and doesn't want to continue because there's no room for him to be part of this.

DOUCLEFF: In another pair, a little brother tries to point to a grocery item to grab, and his older brother pushes his hand out of the way, something I've actually done with Rosy when she tries to help me.

ALCALA: The little boy that was pushed away, what he did was he just kept talking to himself, entertaining himself. And the brother completely ignore him. You know, he never acknowledges anything that he'd say.

DOUCLEFF: How much the kids collaborated fell along cultural lines. The kids with Mexican Indigenous heritage collaborated on average about twice as much as kids with the European American heritage. And, Maria, it's not just about these two cultures. These findings fit in with other research about child development in many parts of the world. It goes beyond that. In cultures that include kids in tasks, kids are more likely to grow up and still be helpful. In cultures in which kids are excluded or separated from these tasks, parents struggle to get kids to help as they grow older.

GODOY: You get fights, in other words.

DOUCLEFF: That's right. Alcala is one of the leading researchers in this field. I visited one of the Maya communities she works with in the Yucatan with her collaborator Suzanne Gaskins, who's an anthropological psychologist at Northeastern Illinois University. We aren't going to name the village to respect their privacy. While I was there, I met a mom who gave me similar advice. Her name is Maria Tun Burgos. She has three daughters. She told me her 4-year-old always wants to help her with every chore.

MARIA TUN BURGOS: (Through interpreter) When I'm making tortillas, she starts crying if I don't let her make tortillas, too. So I let her make a tortilla.

DOUCLEFF: Does she help you? Is it useful?

TUN BURGOS: (Through interpreter) It doesn't matter. She wants to help.

DOUCLEFF: So you let her help whenever she wants to help?

TUN BURGOS: (Through interpreter) Yes, that's the way to teach them. They need to learn how to do it.

GODOY: So you just let them do the chores even if they're no good at it.

DOUCLEFF: That's the basic idea. Another psychologist named Rebeca Mejia-Arauz has come up with similar results. She's with ITESO university in Guadalajara.

REBECA MEJIA-ARAUZ: Letting them do in the way that they can I think it's really very important.

DOUCLEFF: Even if it means at the beginning, things going more slowly.

MEJIA-ARAUZ: Yes, exactly. Yeah.

DOUCLEFF: She interviewed moms with ties to another Indigenous community in Mexico called Nahua.

MEJIA-ARAUZ: We have interviews with mothers in which they say, well, for example, doing the dishes - at the beginning, the water was all over the place and so on and so - but I would allow him to do these so they learn.

DOUCLEFF: It's kind of like an investment. Put up with the mess right now or take extra time. Over the course of years, the child will learn and be - and then be a help.

So that's our takeaway No. 3 - when a child, no matter their age, jumps in to help, acknowledge their contributions by allowing them to help. Give them a shot. And resist the urge to give a bunch of instructions.

GODOY: So don't micromanage what they're doing or turn the activity into some kind of school lecture.

DOUCLEFF: Yeah, turning the chore into a lecture can also demotivate children. Instead, step back and let the child try.

GODOY: But what do you do if the task is too dangerous? Like, say Lily wants to use a super sharp chef's knife to chop vegetables?

DOUCLEFF: Mejia-Arauz says tell her to watch, or you can give her a piece of equipment, real equipment, so she can practice on the side, like a piece of vegetable and a dull knife for cutting. For instance, Mejia-Arauz says when moms are sewing, they'll give a child a piece of cloth to practice with.

MEJIA-ARAUZ: They are just playing with the cloth, and they are mimicking what the mother is doing. And later on, the mother will allow them to have some of the instruments, also.

GODOY: And what do you do when the child starts to make a huge mess? Like one time - actually, more than one time - let's be honest - Lily has been doing the dishes, and she's basically spilled water everywhere - all over the counters, the floors - you know, like epic mess level.

DOUCLEFF: Yeah, that has happened in our house, too. For these moments, you just have to have a little patience and gently guide the child back into being productive. So if Rosy is spraying the water with the faucet, I'll turn off the water and say something like, water stays in the sink. And then I'll execute the last takeaway. Give the child a small subtask of what you're doing.

GODOY: So something like, here, dry this dish or, here, squeeze some soap on the sponge - that kind of thing?

DOUCLEFF: Yeah, exactly. In fact, Maria, in many cultures around the world, parents don't wait for the child to run over and show interest in a task. Instead, they recruit the child to help. And they start this recruitment way earlier than many parents do here in the U.S. Lucia Alcala and her colleague Maria Dolores Cervera at Cinvestav Unidad Merida have documented this. They asked Mayan moms, when can kids start helping?

ALCALA: One said, you know, as early as they can walk. You know, you can ask them, you know, can you bring me this or, you know, can you pick up your shoes or, you know, your toys? And, you know, being exposed and having access to seeing people at work, that's how you're going to get them to learn. So it's early on.

DOUCLEFF: Did you catch that? As soon as they can walk, you start requesting their help.

GODOY: OK, but seriously, how can a little, wobbly toddler do chores? They can barely stand up straight.

DOUCLEFF: It sounds a bit silly, doesn't it? But here's the thing, Maria. These requests to help are a bit different than what you might think. I'm not talking about requests like, Rosy, go clean up the living room or, Rosy, go load the dishwasher or even, go make your bed. I'm talking about tiny, tiny subtasks of things you're already doing. And even though the tasks are small, they make a real contribution. Again, Rosy can tell you some examples of these subtasks I've been using with her since she was 3, and now she's 5.

So, Rosy, say I've got the recycle stuff in the garbage, and I'm getting ready to leave the door. What do I say?

ROSY: Rosy, can you open the door so that I can go to put the recycle out?

DOUCLEFF: What about if it's time to set the table? I hand you a plate, and I say what?

ROSY: Can you please put the plate on the table so that we can eat dinner?

GODOY: Toddlers and young kids love to do these small subtasks. In the kitchen, Lily does a whole bunch of things. She cracks eggs, stirs the pancake mix, throws in the chocolate chips when we make cookies. She likes to help me wipe down the counters, too.

DOUCLEFF: While cleaning, Rosy can hold the dust pan, put away folded clothes, put groceries into the fridge, feed the dog.

GODOY: And little kids are actually great at fetching things. Go fetch a washcloth. Go fetch some herbs from outside. Go fetch a clean diaper.

DOUCLEFF: Go throw away a dirty diaper.

GODOY: Go change the diaper - someday eventually, right?

DOUCLEFF: Yes. Eventually, yes. That's the idea. As Rosy and Lily grow older and become more competent, the subtasks we give them can become more complex. Their contributions to our family grow as their skills grow.

GODOY: So instead of just cracking the eggs, now I'm letting Lily scramble them in a pan - that sort of thing.

DOUCLEFF: Yeah. Instead of just feeding the dog, Rosy now takes the dog for a walk.

GODOY: By practicing small tasks over time, kids build up their competency and confidence in bigger tasks. You know, this takeaway is so important, I'm actually going to repeat it. Request the kids' help and give them small subtasks of your own chores and work.

DOUCLEFF: Now, to get the most from these subtasks, there are a few rules. Make sure the task is real. No busy work. So, for example, don't give kids fake food or fake kitchen equipment.

GODOY: Like, don't wipe down the table and then hand the kid the cloth and say, oh, wipe it for Mommy. If they cut up vegetables for dinner, use them. You might trim the ends, but accept their contribution.

DOUCLEFF: And don't go overboard with requests. Two or three per hour is more than enough.

GODOY: For me, too. I also remember you talking about focusing on doing chores together on tasks that, you know, help the whole family, not individual tasks. For example, if you're doing laundry, everyone folds everyone else's clothes. Or if you're making beds, everyone helps with everyone else's beds. And everyone cleans up the dinner table.

DOUCLEFF: Yes. Rebeca Mejia-Arauz says then children learn to collaborate with their family, and they associate chores with being together.

MEJIA-ARAUZ: They enjoy being with other people. And so because they are doing the things together, it becomes something that is really nice.

DOUCLEFF: So it's really the, like, togetherness that's key.

MEJIA-ARAUZ: Yes. That's very important, yes. Whereas in the other cases, they have to do them, the things, alone. Go and do your homework, pick up your things, and they have to do it alone. I think that makes a huge difference.

DOUCLEFF: Then the chore almost feels like a punishment.

GODOY: It's almost like a timeout.

DOUCLEFF: And the child can end up connecting the chore to something negative. Lucia Alcala says when the child works together with the family to accomplish real tasks, they feel that they are real contributors to the family, that they are part of something bigger than themselves. Alcala says this motivates children to continue helping.

ALCALA: They help at home because they're part of the family. It's a shared responsibility. You know, we're all in this together.

DOUCLEFF: Kids even as young as age 8 or 9 are aware of this motivation. In a recent study, Alcala asked Maya kids, why do you help at home?

ALCALA: They took a few seconds to think about it. And some - one of the participants, he said, well, I live there, therefore I should help (laughter). And he thought it was the most weird question. Why are you asking? Another boy said, you know, well, I also eat there. So it's not the parents that are telling them or forcing them. And, in fact, the parents said, you know, you can't force them to do something.

GODOY: Which brings us to the last takeaway. If the child refuses a request or doesn't want to help, don't force them.

DOUCLEFF: Yes. You know, Alcala says that when she presents her research at conferences, a common response is, well, the kids have to work because the families have limited resources. But she says that's not what's going on here because the parents aren't forcing the children to help. Maya moms told Alcala, you can ask a child once or twice to help, and...

ALCALA: You can guide them. You can help them see why this is important for them to do and to learn. But you can't impose learning. You can't impose them to help if they don't want to help.

DOUCLEFF: Actually, Maria, maybe we should take a step back here and look at the bigger picture. This isn't just about having clean dishes or even teaching kids how to do chores. Alcala says with this approach, parents are teaching kids something that goes way beyond that. They're also teaching them to be cooperative and help voluntarily. And if you think about it, to do that, you need to pay attention, know when to help and to take initiative.

ALCALA: What they want the child to develop is the initiative to understand when somebody is in need of help, to be attentive, to be alert to what's happening.

GODOY: So forcing could backfire. It could actually erode the child's motivation to cooperate with you and to help voluntarily.

DOUCLEFF: She says it pits the child against the parent.

ALCALA: And that could create conflict. And you don't want to have conflict within the family 'cause that could break the cohesion of the family, right? So you don't want to have your children as your enemy, which is very different 'cause we see middle-class parents also in Mexico and in other communities that are not enemies, but they're against each other.

DOUCLEFF: Because remember, we are not teaching children to be obedient. We are teaching them to cooperate and work as a team, to look around and see what needs to be done and then care enough about it to do it.

GODOY: That's the dream. So be patient. That's a lifelong skill, just like reading or learning math. You can't just hang up a chart on the refrigerator and expect the kid to start washing the dishes on Tuesday or Friday.

DOUCLEFF: As Maria Tun Burgos says, the process takes time.

TUN BURGOS: (Through interpreter) You have to teach them slowly, little by little. And eventually, they will understand.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

GODOY: So ready to start showing kids how to be helpful? Remember these four things. In every culture, all young kids, from toddlers until about age 6, they want to help people who love them. They just don't know the best way. What you do in response to a child's desire to help will likely determine whether or not that kid still wants to help with chores when they grow older.

DOUCLEFF: If a child comes over to help you and you shoo them off, you can erode their interest in chores and even in cooperating. So instead, welcome an eager child's help. Step back and give them a chance, even if they aren't competent in the task.

GODOY: Don't wait for a child to show interest in a task. Request their help when you need it. Give them small subtasks of your chores. Just be sure the tasks are real contributions, not busy work.

DOUCLEFF: Finally, if a child doesn't want to help, don't force them. The goal is to teach children to cooperate and work together.

DOUCLEFF: For more LIFE KIT, check out other episodes. I love Maria's episode where she gives us wonderful ways to feel good about our bodies. You can find those at npr.org/lifekit. And if you love LIFE KIT and want more, subscribe to our newsletter at npr.org/lifekitnewsletter.

And now, a completely random tip.

MAYA: Hey, LIFE KIT listeners. My name is Maya (ph). Do you ever run out of clothes at the end of the week but only have three small loads of different colors? You should invest in a laundry sorter with three different sections - one for bright colors, one for dark colors and one for light colors. Then choose one shade of colors to wear for the week. That way you'll only have one big load of laundry, and you'll be more environmentally and budget friendly. Then you choose a different shade the next week. Happy washing.

GODOY: If you've got a good tip, leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823 or email us a voice memo at [email protected].

This episode was produced by Jane Greenhalgh and edited by Vikki Valentine. Meghan Keane is the managing producer. Beth Donovan is the senior editor. Our digital editors are Beck Harlan and Clare Lombardo, and our editorial assistant is Clare Marie Schneider. I'm Maria Godoy.

DOUCLEFF: And I'm Michaeleen Doucleff. Thanks for listening.

Copyright © 2021 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

A Mom's Take

Teaching Kids to Help with Chores

Does it sometimes feel like more work than help to get your kids to do chores? I know the feeling. But teaching your kids responsibility and hard work will help them develop lifelong skills they’ll need to make it on their own.

The secret to sharing the household responsibilities is to set realistic chores, don’t overload their schedules, and spend the time upfront teaching them the steps.

This post is sponsored by Tide at Walmart. All opinions are my own. Affiliate links are used in this post. 

How to Teach Kids to Help with Chores

Kids & Chores Teaching kids to help

1. Set Realistic Chores: There are a lot of things that kids can do, even starting at age 2, but the key to success is picking a chore that isn’t too difficult for your child to do on their own. If you start them off with a job that is beyond their capacities, they’ll end up frustrated and quit altogether.

Teaching Kids to Help with Chores laundry helper

For example, young children don’t have the skills to fold laundry. It may seem like an easy task, but for them the steps and process plus the frustration as it all unfolds as soon as they move it can be an enormous task they won’t be able to achieve.

Aim for chores that they can master with just a little bit of practice, helping them gain confidence in their performance!

2. Stick to Just 1 or 2 Chores:  The work of childhood is play. While chores can be a useful tool, overloading kids with a long list of jobs (even if the only take a half hour to complete them all) will feel insurmountable and they will give up before they even begin. Pick just one or two easy to understand jobs for them to complete and keep your focus on those until they are older.

3. Give Clear Directions & Expectations: While stating a task such as “clean your room” might sound self-explanatory to you, your children might not even know where to begin or what you expect of them. If, instead, you tell them to make sure the floor is clean and their bed is made, they’ll know exactly what you are expecting (a clean floor and a made bed) and can better understand what steps they’ll need to complete to finish the job.

4. Teach and Re-Teach: Use everyday experiences to teach your children how to succeed at different household tasks you may need help with. That can be as easy as talking about what you’re doing out loud.

Something along the line of “I love lining up all the cups on the far side of the top rack of the dishwasher while I’m loading it. Look how nice all of these cups look so neatly in a row. Wow, there is so much more room in the dishwasher when I put things in the right spot.”

It may seem silly, but your kids will pick up on those phrases and they naturally try to please. They’ll mimic you, but they can only mimic what the notice and often don’t pay attention to the details.

Teaching Kids to Help with Chores nathan folding

When you assign a chore for the first time, be sure to help your child through the assigned task for a week or two until they are comfortable with the assignment and know what needs to be done. If you notice a problem in the way they’re completing the chore, use it as an opportunity to teach them again the correct way rather than getting frustrated.

5. Let them earn a “No Chores Day”: Giving incentives for hard work and no complaining is a way to give positive reinforcement for how you want to see your children working through their chores. What’s better at school (especially those with uniforms) than a pajama day? It literally costs the schools nothing and is a reward the kids relish! The same can be said for a “No Chores Day” pass .

No Chores Pass printable

*** Click here —> to Print No Chores Pass ***

Set a goal, such as a good effort for 7 days or doing chores for a week without a complaint for your child to be able to earn a get-out-of-chores-free pass! They’ll love handing over that pass when they’re not feeling it and it’s a great way to show your children that chores are part of the family effort – including the parents!

Help with Laundry Responsibilities

There are simple laundry chores that everyone in the household can help with. From helping empty or load the washing machine or dryer to taking care of their whole laundry routine will really depend on age and your child’s maturity levels. But a great way to get them started with helping in the laundry room is with sorting. It’s something everyone in the home can do, even as young as 2!

Teaching Kids to Help with Chores andy laundry

They can help sort dirty clothes by lights and darks or sort out the piles of clean laundry by family member. Once sorted, older kids can help tackle putting away their own laundry, too.

With all this talk about laundry, and the many loads a household brings, it’s time to stock up while Tide HE 100 oz Liquid is on Rollback at Walmart! You’ll be able to score this large jug that can help tackle up to 64 loads, for just $10.77 (regularly $11.97) at Walmart stores near you.

Let your family help tackle the clean and dirty laundry, while you help out by washing and transferring the loads, being sure to keep your family safe around the detergents by keeping them up high, out of reach of young children.

Claudia Krusch

Wednesday 17th of January 2018

Love all your tips! So important to start early teaching kids responsibility!

This is a great post about teaching kids to help with chores. I love all your tips, and it's a good reminder of ideas to use on my own kids.

Mama to 6 Blessings

We have 6 kids, 5 of them are old enough to do their chores. We do reward them with an allowance though which motivates them.

These are all great ideas for having kids help out around the house. My son is older now but I think he did learn responsibility from having his own chores when he was younger.

Melissa Chapman

We tend not to give the kids chores except for helping out with sorting washed clothes. My daughter generally just takes her clothes and puts them away(she is in high school). I do think it is a nice thing so I might have my son help more around the house.

Meg Selig

8 Surprising Psychological Benefits of Routine Daily Tasks

Lower stress, reduced dementia risks, and more "me time.".

Posted August 12, 2022 | Reviewed by Ekua Hagan

  • Brain benefits of chores include a lower risk of dementia, according to new research.
  • One study found that mindful dishwashing resulted in a 27 percent decrease in nervousness for participants.
  • Researchers have found that undemanding tasks give the mind a break, allowing for more creative ideas.

Image by Liliana Drew, pexels, CC.

Cooking. Cleaning. Washing the dishes. Mowing the lawn. Making the bed. These household chores are never done; they just get repeated like a broken record. Boring ! Or are they?

While many people regard chores as necessary evils, there are science-based reasons to change your attitude about chores. It turns out that doing chores is great for your health—both physical and mental—and not always in the ways that you might think.

Here’s what recent research tells us about the value of ordinary household tasks:

1. Chores can lead to creative problem-solving.

As researchers state here in a study entitled, "Inspired by Distraction: Mind Wandering Facilitates Creative Incubation," doing undemanding tasks allows the mind to wander where it will. Your mind gets a break and allows you to consider old problems with new eyes. In fact, undemanding tasks stimulated more creative ideas than demanding tasks or just resting.

2. Chores are linked to lower dementia risk.

To discover what activities might be linked to a lower rate of dementia, researchers analyzed massive amounts of healthcare data from the UK Biobank. Some 500,000 participants who had an average age of 56.5 years were followed for an average of 10.7 years.

As summarized here, the researchers found that “Those most engaged in frequent exercise, household chores, and daily visits by friends and family had a 35 percent, 21 percent, and 15 percent lower risk of dementia compared to those least engaged in these activities.” These correlations do not imply causation, but they do illustrate how simple lifestyle changes can make big differences in health, as fellow Psychology Today blogger Christopher Bergland writes .

I wondered why chores might provide a buffer against dementia that was even stronger than visits from friends and family. Maybe—I'm speculating here—it’s because chores like washing the dishes, while seemingly simple, require more planning than you might think. And chores combine physical and mental activity, both of which reduce the risk of dementia. Not to mention that as we age, the ability to do chores is one factor keeping us independent.

3. Chores are health-promoting exercise snacks .

The evocative phrase “exercise snacks” refers to small, even tiny, morsels of physical activity, such as standing for a few minutes after sitting for a while, taking a two-minute walk, or doing a chore such as sweeping up the kitchen.

Researchers have studied the effects of exercise snacks ranging from 30 seconds, like walking up a flight of stairs, to 10 minutes, like cycling on a stationary bicycle. Some of the health effects included improved memory , increased coordination, mood lift, reduced risk of atherosclerosis, diabetes, and obesity, and increased longevity.

That's quite a payout for a short investment of time and energy. A recent study found that any short amount of activity after eating, such as standing, doing chores, or (best of all) a two-minute walk, could even lower blood sugar, according to this report . (Excuse me, I'm going out for a two-minute walk right now. Be right back.)

4. Finishing your chores can increase motivation .

What is the single most important skill in behavior change? BJ Fogg, author of Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything, asserts that the most important skill is recognizing and celebrating successes. That's why completing even a small task, like making your bed, can give you a sense of satisfaction and motivate you to tackle the next task... and the next... and the next. In the same vein, best-selling author and speaker Admiral William H. McRaven argues, "If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed." Small wins have an amazing ripple effect.

5. Chores are good for your mental health.

Completing chores increases your sense of " self-efficacy ," defined briefly as a person's belief that they have the ability and skills to reach their goals.

"Self-efficacy," a concept first developed by psychologist Albert Bandura in the 1970s, has been shown to increase confidence and motivation. As discussed in more detail here , "low self-efficacy, or learned helplessness , is associated with anxiety , depression , lack of hope and lack of motivation... while higher self-efficacy is associated with life satisfaction, self-confidence , social connection, and growth mindset ."

help with the chores

6. Chores are good for children's mental health.

Learning to do chores teaches children necessary housekeeping skills and provides "mastery experiences" that increase confidence.

To encourage children even more, psychology professor Lea Waters recommends that parents create a "success narrative" by noticing a child's small successes and acknowledging those accomplishments. In my own case (probably seen through a nostalgic rosy glow), my sister and I also learned to cooperate to get the kitchen cleaned up, and we bonded by gossiping and singing together while we did it.

7. Doing chores can reduce stress.

A small study from Florida State University explored whether the chore of dishwashing, done mindfully, could reduce stress. Using a group of 51 students, they discovered that dishwashers who were instructed to be mindful when washing dishes—focusing on the smell of the soap, the warmth of the water, and the feel of the dishes—reported a decrease in nervousness by 27 percent and an increase in mental inspiration (see #1) by 25 percent.

Although the control group didn’t experience the benefits reported above, I wonder if just finishing a necessary chore in itself relieves some stress. It's a good feeling to cross something off your to-do list or improve your living space. More research, please.

Chores that reduce clutter can also reduce stress. Various studies have indicated that clutter can be linked to higher cortisol—a stress hormone —and can also interfere with focusing. I love the title of author Gretchen Rubin's book: Outer Order, Inner Calm. That about sums it up. So if you’ve been yearning to clean out that junk drawer, do it. You’ll feel better.

8. Chores are an opportunity for “me time.”

Wanna get away? Doing repetitive chores allows you to access your inner thoughts, reflect on them, and retreat from your busy life.

Even chores you dislike can be made more meaningful in one simple way: Ask yourself why you are doing the chore. In this way, you can remind yourself of your basic values. For example: Maybe you take pride in a clean and well-organized house or in delicious, well-prepared food. Maybe doing chores is a way of contributing to the well-being of yourself or your family. Maybe you value the beauty of your lawn and garden and houseplants. Maybe you value the competence you feel when you complete a task successfully.

That said, it would be impossible not to resent household tasks at times. My fix? I focus on gratitude , reminding myself that I am lucky to be independent, alert, and vigorous enough to do those chores.

(c) Meg Selig, 2022. All rights reserved.

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Meg Selig

Meg Selig is the author of Changepower! 37 Secrets to Habit Change Success .

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Help with Chores

One of the biggest complaints I hear from parents is that they can't get their kids to do chores. The problems they cite include procrastination, forgetfulness, distraction, not finishing, doing something halfway or not well, and worst, just plain defiance as in ignoring the request and refusing to do it. The compliance issue is a little more complicated than the other problems, and I'll address that later in the article. For starters, let's list the main factors that can help lead to success.

Success Factors

Have a clear description of what is expected..

Most parents think they do this already, but more often than not, it's not really the case. Expectations include:

1. A clear description of the chore from beginning to end including what the end result looks like. So if the chore is to "clean the bedroom," (a popular one), you need to list exactly what all that entails and what the room should look like when it's finished. For example, does this include vacuuming, vacuuming under the bed, changing the sheets, making the bed, putting clothes in the laundry hamper, dusting the shelves, dusting the night table, organizing papers on the desk?? What in exact detail is included in cleaning the room, and what should the room look like when it is finished? Is this a full scale cleaning or just a pick-up?

2. A timeline. When should the chore be started, how much time should it take, and when does it need to be finished? If you have a teen, you can let him decide when he is starting as long as you have told him the time by which it needs to be completed. If on the other hand your teen does not manage time well, you may need to intervene and also give the starting time. Let him know that when he shows he can manage the time on his own, he can go back to deciding when to start. For smaller children, give both starting and finishing times and help them learn to gauge through repeated experience how long a chore will take. The total time will also vary depending on the child.

Do your expectations fit the developmental age and capacity of your child?

Seems obvious, but sometimes it's not so easy to assess this one. Is what you're asking something that you know your child can do with a fair amount of ease? Cleaning the room is difficult for a 3 year old, but not for a 16 year old. One way to decide for younger children is to walk them through the chore a couple of times and see if they can handle it without help. The general rule is that children under the age of 5 are working on very elementary things such as putting toys in a toy box, picking up clothes and putting them in the hamper, putting away shoes, and so forth. Each of these chores are what I call "single item chores" meaning there are not a lot of steps to them. Pretty much there is one step or one thing to do. As children get older, you can graduate to more complex chores, but again try them out by walking them through and then tweaking them to what fits for your child.

Align the chore with a sense of purpose.

Explain how having the chore done is of help. Maybe it is a benefit to you directly because you have so much to do. An example of this is having your child set the table while you cook, unload the dishwasher before you start dinner, or maybe just assist with the massive amounts of things you have to do in a day. The idea is to point out in detail your appreciation. If children can attach personal value to what they're doing, it helps avoid resistance and elicits their buy-in to the work. Whatever you say should be authentic, and you should really mean it. Kids are quite good at recognizing "fake", and they will feel manipulated if they think you are not sincere in your appreciation

Give notice and create anticipation.

Transition time.

Kids do best when they have some time to move from one activity to another. If your child is watching a TV show or playing a game outside, then you are not going to get a lot of cooperation if you interrupt the activity and give a "right now" command. Provide some lead-in time. Imagine yourself in the same situation. We all like lead-in time. Most of us get angry if we are abruptly interrupted and told to do something without any consideration that we might be in the middle of something. Give 15 minutes warning before the chore is to be done, or you can give two warnings; one about 30 minutes to an hour before and another 10 to 15 minutes before. You can even divide this into three warnings if you have a child that has particular problems with transitions. At the same time, don't get into a routine of nagging. Warnings are different than nagging. They inform and allow the child time to make a transition. Nagging happens when you feel like you have no control over what's happening, and the person on the other end of nagging sees you as an unwelcome intrusion that can be ignored. You can prime your child for warnings by letting them know ahead of time you will be giving them some warning, and you expect them to stop what they're doing when the allotted time is up and commence doing the chore. If there are problems after warnings are given, it is good to have consequences ready to use that have also been spelled out ahead of time.

Chores work best if they are at regular times of the week, and are the same for the most part, every week. There are always ad-ins and sometimes things need to be done immediately, but as much as possible, have a regular list of chores that get done at the same time every week or same time every day. What you are really doing is building in anticipation and planning.

Create cues for beginning chores.

Habits are created when there is a cue that helps us move emotionally into the activity of the habit. The cue may be some kind of communication between you and your child that you both understand and embrace. One mom I know has a regular house cleaning time on Saturday and she enlists the help of all of her kids. Prior to beginning, she puts on the same clothes each week to do the chores and so do her kids. In effect, they have created "chore uniforms." She then puts on music to clean by and they get to take turns picking what music will be played. She mixes fun in with the work, and makes use of the positive effects of group activity, which help motivate everyone. Most importantly, the cues to begin the chores bring everyone on board emotionally. They move into the chore mindset and embrace it which avoids the buildup of resistance. Cues may be much less elaborate than the one I've just described. A cue can be a simple exchange of signals between a child and parent that they have established between them and both understand.

Chunk it down.

This is my favorite technique for helping kids that really are easily distracted and have trouble finishing things. Get a stack of 3x5 index cards (or cut up scrap paper if you have it on hand). Divide the work into tasks and write only single tasks on the cards. If we go back to the room cleaning, each card would have a single task related to the overall job such as taking the clothes off the bed and putting them into the hamper. That's one. Picking up five toys on the floor and put them on the shelf (or in the toy box). That's two. Changing the sheets. Three. Clearing off the desktop. Four. Dust the table by the bed. Five. You get the idea. Break it down into the smallest task you can and give your child one card at a time. Never two. Then make it fun. Set a timer that rings loud and place it in the room so your child can hear and see it and have it go off at the time the task should be finished. If you are using music, you can also play one song as a timer. Add some element of sound and timing to the single task. Then when the time is up, check to see if the task is completed and if not, break it down more. Kids that are competitive try and finish the task before the time is up.

What's great about this technique is that it breaks through the feeling of being overwhelmed by having so much to do. Single steps are usually much more doable than complex tasks with a lot of steps. It also adds stimulation to stay focused through the use of interesting sound. It provides a visual on the card. It blocks out all of the other tasks except the one being tackled. This is, by the way, a good technique for adults to use when they feel overwhelmed.

Chunking it down works particularly well for kids that have problems with attention and focus. These kids usually don't do well with several items on their mental list at a time, and they also respond well to other sensory stimulation to help them focus. Music, timers, or bells all help. TV or visuals that require attention are not helpful and should be turned off. The only visual you should provide is the single task on a single card. Kids also like to see all of the cards that are finished stacked up. It gives them a sense of accomplishment. Conversely, it isn't always helpful to show them the stack that hasn't yet been done because that too can be overwhelming. The overall idea is to stimulate focus, create a sense of accomplishment, and reduce distraction and feelings of being overwhelmed.

The only caveat here is for children that seem to do well with focus and actually enjoy organizing and planning. These kids like lists and might prefer to see the whole list at one time. For them, a blackboard with each item listed is better. They will enjoy creating the list, looking at it, checking off items completed, and having control over the entire process. These kids don't need cards and could actually be frustrated by them. They like to push their mind into the tasks ahead as they are finishing the ones at hand.

You will know what fits best for your kids and it may be different for each of them. It is usually the kids that have difficulties with focus that are the hardest to get through chores, so make use of the index card system and see if that doesn't help.

What about kids that refuse to do chores?

If you find yourself in this position, then you need to drop back and look at what else is going on between you and your child. Questions to ask are:

  • Do I feel connected to my child and vice versa? Does she feel connected to me?
  • Do I know what's going in her life?
  • Do we have time for just chatting?
  • Am I involved in every aspect of my child's life?
  • Is there a lot of animosity between us?
  • Are there problems going on in the household that could make her anxious or upset?
  • Do we say unkind and personally attacking things to each other?
  • Is there marital tension in our home?
  • Am I too permissive in general?
  • Am I too strict in general?
  • Do my kids get to express their feelings when appropriate? Do I know how they feel about things?

All of these questions are related in some way or other to the relationship that exists between you and your child, and/or the amount of stress that is in the environment. Both of these factors play a large role in how well you can gain compliance from your child(ren) when you need it. If you have been permissive in general and your kids know that you don't really mean what you say, then they are not going to easily do chores. If there is a lot of tension between you, and you both feel disconnected except for negative tension, then you will meet with resistance when trying to set up a schedule for chores. The bottom line is that kids will do what you say if they care about how you feel about them and want to stay connected to you. If not, you may have problems with compliance. If this is an issue for you, read some of the other articles on our site about the parent-child relationship.

If you feel that you have a particularly defiant child and that this is not so much related to the problems I have cited above, or you feel like you can't resolve the problems yourself, then get some help from a counselor who has some experience with children and families. For very defiant kids, you might find some help in The Explosive Child by Ross Greene. He outlines some specific things you can try that you wouldn't think of when dealing with children in general.

Should chores by tied to an allowance?

This is a big question and one of considerable debate. My default position on any policy related to parenting is to first ask the question, "What am I trying to teach my children with this policy?" If you use this approach, than the answer may become clearer. If you tie all chores to receiving an allowance, or to any material reinforcement, than the message you are sending is that we should always receive some kind of material compensation when we do work, regardless of the context. So next question is obviously, "Is this the message we want to send?' I think not. There are certain services we provide out of love, belonging, caring, or just because we are part of a group in which each person contributes to the whole. It is very, very important for kids to feel that they are part of a family unit, no matter how small or large that unit is. As part of a family (even a 2 person family), they need to see themselves as having a part in the care and upkeep of the family. Doing chores is simply part of making sure that family members are taken care of and have what they need. It can be explained something like this:

We are all part of the family and we all do things to take care of each other and ourselves. Mom and Dad work to bring in money to buy groceries, pay the rent, pay for the car, buy clothes, and so on. We clean our house so that we know where things are when we need them, and to practice good hygiene so we keep ourselves healthy. We take care of our pets so that they are happy and healthy and feel good. We wash our clothes, fold and hang them, and put them away so we have clean clothes to wear to school and work and we can find them when we are ready to get dressed. As a member of the family, you get to help take care of us by doing some chores, and your help is really important. Mom and Dad do most of the big things because that's our job and we want to take care of you, but you can do some things that will help too and make things easier for us all. Everybody's help is important and that's part of what's great about being in a family.

The chores that fall in this group are the regular expectations such as room cleaning, taking out the trash, help with the dishes, setting or clearing the table, feeding the pets, vacuuming, etc. These chores should not be tied to an allowance. None of us get paid for doing these chores and it isn't a good idea to raise our children with the false expectation that they will get paid for these chores either. We also want to build in intrinsic value meaning we want our children to learn to take pride in participating in contributing to a group for everyone's benefit. Instead of the "what's in it for me?" attitude, kids need to cultivate the "what's in it for us all?" attitude, and "how can I help?"

I think an allowance should be separate from chores and can just be an amount that a child gets as a family member. It is spending money, and you can also use the allowance to teach your child about spending, and tracking and saving money. These are valuable lessons in their own right.

I do think that it is a good idea to give children a chance to earn money with bigger, unusual chores such as washing and waxing the car, or maybe doing some lawn work that is not normally done by them, or maybe extra chores such as special cleaning projects. These types of chores are beyond the norm and children get to experience earning, work ethic, and negotiating with these situations. It stimulates a positive sense of creating income through work. It may even stimulate entrepreneurial or creative ideas as they try and come up with ways to make more money. They may come to you with ideas or creative projects and negotiate fees. These are good skills to encourage and teach, but should not be mixed in with the normal expectations associated with a family member.

Quick Summary Points

  • Be clear about what you expect. Describe in detail what the chore entails, and provide a timeline for getting it done.
  • Make sure the chore is something your child can actually do.
  • Give plenty of notice as to when the chore needs to be done, and use warnings to allow transition time from one activity to another.
  • Simplify the chore by using the index card system for isolating each task.
  • Add stimulation and fun to the chore with sounds, bells, timers or music.
  • Show authentic appreciation for how the chore is of help to you.
  • Don't tie chores to an allowance.

Sunday, 06 January 2013. Posted in Chores

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The Ultimate Household Chores List (and Free Printable Template!)

Created On: September 28   |   Updated: September 28   |   1 Comment

free printable list of household chores PDF

This household chores list can help you stay on top of your cleaning and better plan your days! Grab the free printable list of chores now and learn how to put it to good use!

If you ask any busy Momma out there, she’d probably say that the number one biggest contributor of stress in her life is keeping up with the cleaning.

When you single-handedly clean an entire house that four or more people live in (including two preteen daughters that drop their shoes literal inches in front of the shoe rack but not on the rack), it’s rough.

I get it. And I despise cleaning, too. Especially when I feel like the house is just going to be dirty again in two days. Definitely seems like a waste of time.

But one of the things that I find to be part of that time not-so-well spent is the hassle of figuring out what to clean first or what needs to be done in each room… but that’s where a Household Chores Checklist can help!

household chores checklist PDF

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click a link and make a purchase, I earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Read my full disclosure for more info.

Why You Need a Household Chores List

You may be wondering how a list of household chores can help you? Like you need another list , right?!

But actually having a printed checklist of chores has a number of benefits like these:

  • A household chore list helps you plan your time. I find it easiest to plan my productive time when I have a complete list of all of the things that I need to get done (cleaning or otherwise). And I use that list to set my intentions for each day.
  • Use your list of chores to quickly assign tasks to your family. You can easily pick off a chore from the list and delegate to your kids when you need some help around the house.
  • Having a printed chore list means you have one less thing to remember. Much like a brain dump can help you get all of your to-do’s and important things to remember out of your head and on to paper, a chores list can help you not forget things that you need to get done around the house.

How to Use a Household Chores List

It’s one thing to have a cute and colorful list of household chores hanging on your fridge… But it’s another thing to actually put it to good use to help you stay on top of your home cleaning and upkeep.

Here are some ideas for how to use the printable list of chores that I’ve got for you at the end of this post:

list of household chores on a clipboard

Laminate the list of household chores to hang on your fridge.

This is my favorite way to use the printable chores list down below. Having my list of chores hanging front and center on the fridge is a great way to keep your daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning jobs top of mind… every time you open the fridge you’ll be reminded to complete your chores for the day.

Just laminate the printable list of chores ( this is the laminator that I have and LOVE !) and use a dry erase marker to check things off the list as you complete them. Doesn’t get much easier than that!

Print one copy of the chores list for each week.

If you don’t have a laminator or if you prefer having a fresh chore list for each week, you can also print off multiple copies of the printable cleaning list. Then, you can hang the list on a clipboard in your family command center or on the fridge. Just use a pen to mark out the jobs that are done, and get a fresh household chores list at the beginning of the following week.

Add the printable household chores checklist to your planner.

If you like to organize your whole life with a paper planner, then why not include your chores list in there also? You can add specific chores to different days of the week in your weekly planner to help keep up with your cleaning list.

Or, just print out the giant list of chores at the end of this post and add it to your planner as is for when you have some extra time and feel like being productive.

Use the list of chores to get help around the house.

Sometimes I feel too busy to even think about delegating chores and other household tasks to my kids and husband… As a full-time working Mom, I know that I need the help keeping up with housework, but thinking of jobs for my kids to do or actually vocalizing what specific chores I need help with is just ONE. MORE. THING. on my to-do list.

Maybe you can relate?

But having a list of chores at the ready can take one thing off your plate… Even if it’s as simple as cleaning out the dishwasher.

When you’re starting to feel overwhelmed, simply tell your kids to each pick one chore from the chore list and get it done. This allows them to choose how they want to be helpful, and it also helps to alleviate your workload. Win win!

Daily Household Chores List

The key to keeping a clean home is to clean every day. I know that sounds worse than getting a root canal, but smaller daily household chores really can make a big difference in the overall cleanliness of your home. Here’s a list of daily household chores that you can add to your cleaning list:

  • Make all the beds
  • Put all dirty clothes in the hamper
  • Put away any clean clothes
  • Wipe down and  declutter the kitchen counters

clean kitchen counter

  • Load and unload the dishwasher
  • Wash dishes
  • Make sure there are no dishes left in the sink at night
  • Sort paper clutter – Organizing important mail, filing away kids’ school papers, trashing junk mail, etc.
  • Take out trash
  • Wipe down the dining table
  • Sweep under the dining table/eating areas
  • Sweep the kitchen
  • General tidying up

Weekly Household Chores List

These jobs can be done weekly to help you maintain a nice and tidy house:

  • Vacuum, sweep, or mop all floors – I really LOVE this steam mop for my hard surface floors!
  • Dust shelves, picture frames, tabletops, and other flat surfaces
  • Wash bed linens and bath towels
  • Sweep and mop under the dining table
  • Wipe down appliances in the kitchen
  • Wash all kitchen linens – kitchen towels, dish cloths, cloth napkins, etc.
  • Scrub the kitchen sink
  • Sweep/mop the kitchen floors
  • Change out kitchen towels and dish rags
  • Spot clean dining chairs (if needed)
  • Spot clean rug and couches (if needed)
  • Wipe down all mirrors
  • Clean the toilets
  • Clean bathroom counters and faucets
  • Sweep/mop bathroom floors
  • Vacuum bedroom floors
  • Dust all bedroom furniture
  • Clean off nightstands
  • Water the plants
  • Pay bills and sort paper clutter – I’ve got an awesome guide for creating an at home filing system for your family paper work here !

important documents organized in file folders

  • General decluttering
  • Organize and declutter mudroom and/or entryway
  • Dust mudroom or entryway furniture

Monthly Cleaning Jobs

Here are some ideas for monthly cleaning jobs to add to your household chores list:

  • Wipe down cabinet and drawer fronts
  • Dust all window blinds
  • Dust all light fixtures
  • Clean window sills
  • Shampoo rugs if needed
  • Clean out and organize the fridge and freezer – I’ve also got an awesome  free printable freezer inventory sheet  you can use to keep your freezer organized after you’re done!

Freezer inventory and freezer organization

  • Clean baseboards
  • Change air filters
  • Clean the garbage disposal – I’m a fan of these garbage disposal cleaning tabs .
  • Clean the insides and outsides of kitchen and bathroom trash cans
  • Organize and declutter bathroom countertops and drawers

List of Household Chores – Separated by Room

Instead of focusing on what chores need to be done daily, weekly, and monthly, you may find it easier to separate your list of chores by room instead. This is sometimes referred to as “ zone cleaning ” and it can help the gigantic task of keeping your entire house clean feel not so daunting, because it allows you to focus on only one room at a time.

If this Zone Cleaning system seems more your style, then here’s a household chores list separated by rooms or “zones” to help you get started:

Kitchen Chores List

For a giant list of kitchen chores that can be done daily, weekly, and monthly check out this post: Kitchen Cleaning Checklist for Daily, Weekly, and Deep Cleaning – And you can even grab this super cute free printable kitchen cleaning checklist:

free printable kitchen cleaning checklist

And here are some kitchen cleaning jobs to add to your list of household chores:

  • Do the dishes – I try to make sure every night before I go to sleep that the dishes are done and the sink is completely cleaned out.
  • Wipe down the countertops
  • Spot clean food splatters with a quick-clean mop if needed
  • Change the trash bag if needed
  • Put away any paperwork or mail from the day
  • Put away any other items that are out of place in the kitchen
  • Clean and disinfect the kitchen sink and garbage disposal
  • Clean and disinfect kitchen countertops
  • Clean and organize the refrigerator and freezer
  • Clean the inside and outside of the microwave
  • Clean the stovetop and outside of the oven, and run the self-cleaning cycle on the oven if needed
  • Wipe down outside and inside of trash can
  • Dust top of cabinets
  • Clean baseboards of cabinets
  • Clean backsplash
  • Wash dish towels and rags
  • Change water filters on coffee maker and fridge if needed

Living Room Chores List

  • Sweep/mop/vacuum living room
  • Spot clean rugs, curtains, and upholstered furniture
  • Dust living room furniture
  • Fold blankets and fluff pillows
  • Declutter and organize the living room storage areas (like bookshelves, hutches, etc)
  • Clear off coffee and end tables
  • Vacuum upholstered furniture
  • Dust fireplace mantel and clean off hearth (if applicable)

Bedroom Chores to Do

  • Wash all bed linens
  • Make the bed and straighten throw pillows and blankets
  • Sweep/mop/vacuum bedroom floors and rugs
  • Dust all bedroom furniture, picture frames, and decorative items
  • Clean and deodorize the mattress
  • Declutter nightstand and dresser tops
  • Remove all trash from the bedroom
  • Sort through and organize dresser and nightstand drawers
  • Declutter and organize the closet
  • General decluttering in the bedroom – And you can check out this post to help you with bedroom clutter and grab this free printable checklist: How to Declutter Your Messy Bedroom Today – Free Checklist!

free printable bedroom decluttering checklist

Dining Room Cleaning List

Our dining room is fairly easy to clean, probably because we don’t have a lot of “stuff” in there. Hopefully this is an easy room for you to clean as well:

  • Sweep/mop/vacuum dining room floors
  • Dust and polish dining room table and furniture
  • Spot clean dining room chairs and rug
  • Dust decorative items and wall art in the dining room
  • Organize and declutter any dining room storage areas (buffet, hutch, etc.)
  • Refill any dining supplies like napkins, plastic cutlery, etc.
  • Clean baseboards in the dining room
  • Dust light fixtures, curtain rods, etc.
  • Check bottoms of chair legs for felt sliders if needed (to prevent damage to your hard floors)

Bathroom Chores List

The bathrooms can be one of the most daunting places to clean in any house… for me personally, I would rather go to the dentist than have to clean the shower.

And since these rooms can be overwhelming to clean, I’ve devoted an entire blog post to daily, weekly, and deep cleaning jobs for the bathroom ! And be sure to grab these cute free printable cleaning checklists too:

bathroom deep cleaning checklist on a clipboard

Be sure to hop over to that bathroom cleaning post for more ideas, but here are some general cleaning jobs for the bathroom “zone”:

  • Wipe down bathroom counter and faucets
  • Rinse toothpaste and other debris from the sinks
  • Put dirty clothes in the hamper
  • Put away out of place items
  • Empty and clean the trash can
  • Clean sinks and vanity top
  • Windex mirror
  • Clean toilet
  • Wash towels, washcloths, and bath rug if needed
  • Hang bath mat to dry
  • Check toilet paper and hand soap supply
  • Clean shower/tub
  • Spot clean splatters on cabinets
  • Wash/spot clean shower curtain or glass

Laundry Room Chores List

Good news… the laundry room is one of the smaller rooms in the house, so there’s not as many household chores to do in this area of the home (at least that’s how it is in my house). Here are some common chores for the laundry room:

  • Wipe down outside of washer and dryer
  • Sweep/mop/vacuum floors
  • Run a cleaning cycle on the washing machine
  • Check stock of supplies (detergent, dryer sheets, etc.)
  • Clean or dust baseboards, door, and trim
  • Dust or wipe down any countertops or shelves

Printable Chore Checklists

I LOVE creating printables to help around the house! Some people read books, do crafts, or watch Netflix in their free time… but I enjoy making PDF templates that help make Mom Life easier! Here are some of my awesome printable chore lists:

Free Printable Household Chores List – Just click the link below to grab a super cute printable list of common household chores! Then hang the list on your fridge or add it to your planner as a reminder of the cleaning jobs that you want to get done!

Click HERE for the Household Chores List!

Weekly Cleaning Schedule Templates – These cleaning list templates are actually fillable, which means you can type directly in to the PDF to customize your own Weekly Cleaning Schedule! Then, hang the checklist on the fridge or add it to your planner to stay on track of your household chores!

editable weekly cleaning schedule PDF on a clipboard

I hope these cleaning checklists and chore lists help you to be a little less overwhelmed with all of the house work!

How do you keep up with your cleaning schedule? Do you have a list of jobs that you use, or are you more of the “just wing it” type? Leave me a comment down below! I’d LOVE to hear from you!

And happy cleaning (if there is such a thing!).

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this really helped me find some chores to do for mothers day! thank you so much !

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A Free Printable Chore Chart For Your Household

A s your children grow up, it is important that they get involved with the household chores. By becoming a helpful part of their home environment, they can do their part to help their family to operate like a finely tuned machine. Plus, they will learn a lot about jobs and responsibilities. Today, we present you with a free printable chore chart along with tips for how to help your kids to get involved and the importance of doing so.

The Importance of a Printable Chore Chart

While there are many important reasons to have your kids help with the chores (more on that later), it is also essential that you hold your kids accountable and that everyone shares the responsibilities. If you have a large family with multiple children, then everyone should contribute based on their age and abilities. 

A printable chore chart can help. Make one or several copies and then place them on the refrigerator, in the kid’s rooms, or in another community area of your home where everyone will see them. When they look at it, they will be able to instantly tell what chores they have left to do and which are already done. When they finish a chore, they can mark it off of the list. It is a feeling that can be incredibly rewarding and it may encourage your kids to do everything else they have on their list.

The particular printable chore chart below allows you to mark down who is responsible for tasks, such as cleaning the living room, hallways, garage, bathroom, outdoor patio and more. Plus, you have slots for washing the dishes and miscellaneous tasks like taking out the trash, vacuuming, and painting the fence outside. Print the chart below, put it into practice, and you will really see how clean your house can get.

Why Kids Should Have Assigned Chores

There are numerous reasons why parents should put their kids in charge of particular chores around the house. 

Chores Teach Life Skills

Your kids learn a lot of stuff in school, but they don’t always learn the life skills that can help them to thrive when they grow into adults. Children need to know how to wash and dry the dishes, clean their space, and take care of their belongings. By having them do at least minimal chores, they will learn some of these important life lessons.

Learn About Money and Budgeting

If your kids earn an allowance for completing their chores, then they can learn a lot about saving and budgeting their money. When your children want to buy something, like a video game or toy, you can tell them that they can earn the funds by doing their chores. Once they earn some money, you can also open a bank account for them so they can learn about putting their earnings in a good place so they can earn for a future purchase.

Understand Teamwork

By using a printable chore chart, you can also teach your kids about working as part of a team. When one of your kids washes the dishes, another dries them, and another puts them away, they will learn how they can work as one unit to accomplish a goal. The same can be said if your kids work together out in the yard, they help to clean a room, or anything else they take on.

Improve Time Management Skills

When your kids have chores in addition to school, homework, and time out with their friends, they will learn a lot about time management. This is especially true if you require that your kids complete their chores before they are allowed to go out. It can be incredibly beneficial for them to learn time management now because their lives will only get more complicated as they grow. Enact a good routine today and they will be set to go as they become adults.

Opportunities to Bond

If you have several of your kids working on similar projects, then they will have plenty of time to talk and bond. There is something about working towards a common goal that is great for helping your kids to connect. Parents can also choose to help the kids with their chores and talk to them and forge a stronger relationship. 

Chores For Your Kids Per Age

Parents that are scratching their heads thinking of chores for their kids to do are in luck. Below is a list of chores for different age groups:

Chores for Kids Ages 2-3

  • Put toys away
  • Put clothes in the hamper
  • Wipe up spills
  • Pile magazines and books

Chores for Kids Ages 4-5

  • Make their bed
  • Clear the table
  • Water the flowers
  • Help unload utensils from the dishwasher

Chores for Kids Ages 6-7

  • Help sort the laundry
  • Set and clear the table
  • Clean their bedroom
  • Help with yard work
  • Sweep the floors

Chores for Kids Ages 8-9

  • Load dishwasher
  • Take pets for a walk
  • Cook simple foods

Chores for Kids Ages 10+

  • Unload dishwasher
  • Baby-sit younger kids
  • Clean the kitchen
  • Change bed sheets
  • Wash the car

As you can see, a printable chore chart can do wonders for your household. Hold your kids responsible for their own chores and you will teach them lessons that they will take with them for years to come.

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The post Free Printable Chore Chart For Your Household appeared first on Moms Who Think .

A Free Printable Chore Chart For Your Household

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Mom Who Gave Her Son's Babysitter a Chore List Asks the Internet If It's a 'Good Idea or Not' (Exclusive)

The babysitter was given the option to complete a list of chores for extra money

help with the chores

Getty; kivankc/TikTok

A working mom in Missouri is sparking debate online after giving her son's babysitter a chore list to complete while she was out.

Katrina Ivan posted a video to her TikTok account back in December sharing the list of optional chores she'd written down for her babysitter to complete. "You are more than welcome to hang out and watch TV all night, but if you want to make some extra $, these jobs are up for grabs," the note began.

Ivan went on to list jobs around the house, writing a dollar amount in front of each chore that could be added on to the babysitter's fee at the end of the night.

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The chores ranged from organizing the island and cleaning glass mirrors to vacuuming the couch and scrubbing the inside of her fridge, priced between $3 and $15.

"Just let me know if you decided to do any of these and the grand total I owe you on top of the babysitting money. Thanks for being here," the note concluded. The video also featured a few pictures of the mom's house, including some messier parts of the home.

In her caption on TikTok, Ivan explained her choice.

"I am a teacher and I have a small business that is in the busy season," she wrote. "Little things have been let go for too long. If my sitter decides to do this, I'll be forever grateful. If not, I'll get to it later like I already had planned."

In the comment section, many viewers criticized her choice, with some saying that the payment is too low. "I think $10 is too cheap for some of these tasks considering the amount of work/size of the mess," one person wrote.

Ivan replied, taking the advice under consideration. "I'll definitely be restructuring the prices to make this more fair in the future. Thanks for the advice," she said.

Others praised the mom for giving her babysitter a choice. "I think this is a great opportunity for your babysitter," one person said. "You're giving a choice, and I love that."

Another agreed. "As a babysitter that usually just cleans anyways bc I can't sit still, I'd appreciate the thought and compensation!"

"I was very surprised to so many people react to my TikTok about my note for my babysitter," Ivan tells PEOPLE. "I hope that more parents will see this and do something similar to save them some stress."

"My babysitter, Em Rice, loved making extra money, and I loved coming home to a more peaceful space."

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People reacted to the woman's story

sunrise@shine said:

"First, check when he will be sleeping collect his phone and delete all his friends number don't let him know that you touch his phone then watch him."

Precious Ogbeide said:

"As a child wey dey grow up wey you go find Greener pasture dey, go feel say you abandon am. He go think say if truly you love am you for no leave am."

help with the chores

"You go explain tire": Lady in relationship with military man shares his commanding chat with her

user8818572129661 said:

"Ma please let him come back first after he face Nigeria situation he will learn he will later beg you to Carry him back."

user6368875974610 said:

"Pls don't cry, first go down on ur knees and pray take this matter off Media if u believe in d power of prayers.use love & prayers u will conquer..."

charlesogwu4 said:

"I don't know your full story, but this kid needs a father figure to straighten him."

Parents return their son to Nigeria

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that a boy's parents had returned him to Nigeria from abroad.

The boy's former classmate, @iamTkay_, narrated on X how the family bought return tickets for everyone else except him.

@iamTkay_ shared the story in reaction to a video of a boy in the UK who was smiling while his Nigerian mum scolded him for damaging his new jackets.

help with the chores

"She has children": Nigerian widow faints while begging for pure water, unable to feed kids

"I had a class mate in secondary school who came to Nigeria during summer vacation for similar reasons. What he didn't know was that they bought return tickets for everyone in the family... except him," he wrote.

PAY ATTENTION: Donate to Legit Charity on Patreon. Your support matters!

Source: Legit.ng

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Chore Ticker 4+

Herbalife vietnam single member limited liability company, designed for ipad, screenshots, description.

Introducing Chore Ticker - Your effective task management assistant Are you tired of forgetting important tasks? Or always neglect healthy habits? Chore Ticker will help you schedule and track everything easily. Chore Ticker is a smart task and habit management tool that helps you organize your life scientifically. Main function: Create detailed to-do lists with dates, icons, and reminders so you never miss a task Set up a flexible weekly, biweekly or monthly schedule Visually track progress toward completing each task and habit Set reminders to maintain healthy habits Prioritize important tasks and filter by date or status Chore Ticker will help you organize your life scientifically, increase productivity and achieve your goals. Let's master your time and life together!

Version 1.0.1

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The developer, HERBALIFE VIETNAM SINGLE MEMBER LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

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Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

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IMAGES

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  3. The Importance of Household Chores

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  4. 11 Reasons Why Chores Make Kids More Successful (According to Studies)

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  5. The Importance of Chores for Children and When to Start

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  6. family_chores

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COMMENTS

  1. Age-Appropriate Chores for Children: Chore Ideas and Allowances

    Chores help kids learn responsibility, and sharing chores gives you help around the house. Not sure your kids will go for it? Take heart! There are ways to make chores a little bit, well,...

  2. The Importance of Chores for Kids

    Teenagers Sometimes parents wonder if they should really give their kids chores. After all, isn't it the parents' responsibility to manage the household? And don't kids need an opportunity to 'just be kids' for now because they have the rest of their lives to worry about chores? Most kids have really busy schedules too.

  3. How to Get Your Kids to Do Chores

    1. End the Distractions for Your Child If your child is not doing his chores, you simply end whatever is distracting him. More than likely, this means the electronics get turned off. And they don't come back on until the chores are done. Then talk to him about it. But keep it brief.

  4. The Benefits of Chores

    Summary The Chore Conflict "Just wait a minute. I promise - I'll do it later." "Aw Mom, do I have to??" "Angie doesn't have to do this; why do I have to?" How many times have you heard these refrains or something similar when you request your children to do a chore around the house? Chances are it has been often.

  5. How to Get Your Kids to Do Chores

    Chores are a great opportunity to teach kids responsibility and the benefits of engaging in tasks that benefit the community, and in this case, the family. This also allows kids to learn independent living skills that they will need in the future, such as vacuuming, mopping, doing laundry and cooking.

  6. 3 reasons why chores are good for kids who learn and think ...

    Doing chores helps them build a sense of responsibility and confidence. Choose tasks that play to your child's strengths, but that can also build skills. When it comes to chores, it can sometimes feel easier to do them yourself than to ask your child to pitch in. This is especially true when kids have trouble getting tasks done.

  7. The Best Chores for Teens—and How to Get Your Kid to Do Them

    Go Henry. A website, mobile app, and debit card that allows parents to set up automatic allowances or tasks and chores for their children to earn extra money. It's an easy way for parents to teach ...

  8. 5 tips for helping your child stay on top of chores

    These tips can help your child complete household tasks more easily. 1. Create a chore chart. When younger kids have trouble remembering their chores, a chore chart can really help. Write out the chart on a piece of paper or buy one at a craft or office supply store. Give your child fun stickers to put on the chart when a task is completed.

  9. How to Get Your Children to Help With Chores

    Jot down specific chores or tasks for your kids and the corresponding points they'll get to earn once they successfully accomplish them. Here's an example: Making their beds = 2 points. Dishwashing = 2 points. Taking out the trash = 3 points. Walking the dog = 3 points. Helping Dad wash the car = 5 points.

  10. 10 Tips for Letting Your Kids Help with Chores

    Getting kids to help out around the house with chores can feel like an overwhelming task at times. Very rarely do kids offer to clean up the playroom, put dishes away or walk the dog. However, kids are naturally curious, want to spend time with their parents, and love helping out in the right circumstances.

  11. A List of Age-Appropriate Chores for Kids 2 to 18

    Ages 13 to 18 What to Avoid When Making Chore Lists FAQ Assigning chores to children can be beneficial to their development. Children who regularly do chores tend to have higher self-esteem, be more patient, and be better equipped to handle frustration and responsibility.

  12. Raising Kids Who Help With Chores : Life Kit : NPR

    < Raising Kids Who Help With Chores April 1, 202112:03 AM ET 21-Minute Listen Playlist MARIA GODOY, HOST: This is NPR's LIFE KIT. I'm Maria Godoy. For years, my friend and colleague...

  13. How to Get Your Whole Family Helping with Chores

    One way to decide is to count up major chores you need to be done often and compare them to the number of people in your home. If you come up with eight such house chores with four people in the house, you probably want a daily list. A weekly list will be more manageable if you come up with fifty tasks. Then assign tasks to family members.

  14. Why Chores Are Important for Kids

    Chores. We all remember them. Some were associated with allowance, others were simply mandatory. For many kids, they were often an intrusion on other more important things we could have been doing.

  15. The ultimate household chore list

    Daily household chores help you stay on top of clutter and make your home guest-ready at any time. The daily chore list should be shared among family members so no one has to do it all. Here are some examples of daily household chores you'll want to consider adding to your list: Bedrooms Make the beds. Put things in their place.

  16. Teaching Kids to Help with Chores

    2. Stick to Just 1 or 2 Chores: The work of childhood is play. While chores can be a useful tool, overloading kids with a long list of jobs (even if the only take a half hour to complete them all) will feel insurmountable and they will give up before they even begin. Pick just one or two easy to understand jobs for them to complete and keep ...

  17. 8 Surprising Benefits of Routine Daily Chores

    Brain benefits of chores include a lower risk of dementia, according to new research. One study found that mindful dishwashing resulted in a 27 percent decrease in nervousness for participants ...

  18. Household Chore Help

    AR April R. Fort Worth, TX $14-20/hr • 1 yrs exp RN Seeking Opportunities To Assist In Organizing And Household Chores. Background Check I'd describe my personality as genuine, funny, and laid back. I like caring for homes because I love organization and tidiness. It brings order and a sense of calm.

  19. How to Get Help with Household Chores

    1. Home Organization Professional home organizers are a great resource to help reduce clutter and free up valuable space. They can do anything from rearranging furniture to getting rid of the things you no longer want or need. Many organizers also recycle whenever possible, often by donating items to charities.

  20. Help with Chores

    The chores that fall in this group are the regular expectations such as room cleaning, taking out the trash, help with the dishes, setting or clearing the table, feeding the pets, vacuuming, etc. These chores should not be tied to an allowance.

  21. The Ultimate Household Chores List (and Free Printable Template!)

    Cleaning and Organizing The Ultimate Household Chores List (and Free Printable Template!) Created On: September 28 | Updated: September 28 | 1 Comment This household chores list can help you stay on top of your cleaning and better plan your days! Grab the free printable list of chores now and learn how to put it to good use!

  22. How do chores teach life skills?

    Weekly chores not only teach kids a range of life skills such as self-worth and self-reliance but also help children to embrace important lessons such as the importance of setting priorities and delaying gratification.. A study from the University of Minnesota has found that you can make a big difference in your children's future by asking them to take out the garbage, do the laundry, make the ...

  23. HELP CHORDS by The Beatles (free) @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com

    Help Chords by The Beatles 2,884,833 views, added to favorites 41,115 times Author Unregistered. 5 contributors total, last edit on Apr 08, 2022 View official tab We have an official Help tab...

  24. A Free Printable Chore Chart For Your Household

    The Importance of a Printable Chore Chart. While there are many important reasons to have your kids help with the chores (more on that later), it is also essential that you hold your kids ...

  25. Mom Gave Her Son's Babysitter a Chore List

    The babysitter was given the option to complete a list of chores for extra money Getty; kivankc/TikTok A working mom in Missouri is sparking debate online after giving her son's babysitter a chore ...

  26. Woman in Tears as Her Son Whom She Took Abroad Demands to Be Returned

    A Nigerian woman in Europe has cried out for help online, saying her son wants to return to Nigeria five months after she relocated him to be with her. ... The heartbroken woman, who feels her son doesn't love her, said she doesn't always disturb him to do chores and had once gone two weeks without telling him to do anything.

  27. Texas Monthly on Instagram: "As Austin Riley sat in a pool of his own

    6,319 likes, 387 comments - texasmonthly on February 9, 2024: "As Austin Riley sat in a pool of his own blood on an October evening in 2022, he couldn't help ..." Texas Monthly on Instagram: "As Austin Riley sat in a pool of his own blood on an October evening in 2022, he couldn't help but acknowledge the morbid absurdity of his current ...

  28. ‎Chore Ticker on the App Store

    Chore Ticker will help you schedule and track everything easily. Chore Ticker is a smart task and habit management tool that helps you organize your life scientifically. Main function: Create detailed to-do lists with dates, icons, and reminders so you never miss a task