Free Printable Chore Charts For Kids – By Age

These free printable chore charts are the perfect way to help kids stay motivated and on track with their household tasks!

Kids helping around the house: more of a headache than a help? Giving them age appropriate daily chores could be the answer! These colorful charts with pictures are perfect for big kids as well as toddlers aren’t able to read yet!

Kids are capable of doing so much more than they are usually given credit for.

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why it’s good for kids to do chores

Giving your kids age appropriate chores is not only helpful to Mom and Dad, but does so much to teach them the value of hard work!

helping out makes your kids more invested in their home

Your kids will care more about their home knowing that they are part of the effort to keep it looking nice. Its not just their parents who work toward a great place to live. When the whole family is in it together, you all try harder to keep things looking good.

it helps them to feel needed

Like Thomas the Train, we all like to feel “really useful”. Knowing that they are doing something that really helps Mommy and Daddy is a great feeling!

Something as simple as being the one who unloads the dryer, can make your child feel important and “essential” to the way the household runs.

doing household duties teaches basic life skills

You don’t want your kids to have to learn to do their own laundry and wash the dishes when they move out as adults! Teaching them slowly as they grow up at home will make them experts when they start a home of their own!

Your kids might push back when they’re given chores now. But when they move out and are absolute pros at running a home. They will thank you!! Kids who have never been taught to do the laundry, wash dishes or do basic mending, will be in for a SHOCK when they’re expected to take care of themselves on their own.

develop a good work ethic from an early age

If you are clear about what you expect from your children with each task they do, you’re teaching them how to do a job well. Not just doing the bare minimum. That’s not going to fly when they’re working an adult job and it shouldn’t be ok with their little jobs at home.

Helping your child develop good habits from a young age, you’ll basically be setting them up to be successful at whatever walk of life they end up in.

working together teaches team work

We all work together for a common goal. That goal can be as simple as getting our daily responsibilities knocked out at the same time so that we can all go out and draw with chalk together!

why it’s important to give age appropriate chores

So what is the right age to start giving your kids chores to do? The answer is, it depends a lot on the child.

Your child can start helping you with chores as early as age 2. Give them a little stack of washcloths to fold when you’re doing laundry, help load the dishwasher, pick up toys…

Research shows that at 3 years old, kids should be able to follow simple directions on their own, without help. This seems to be a good age to start adding little chores to your child’s daily routine.

The important thing is to choose chores that are age appropriate so that you and your little one don’t get frustrated! You don’t want to ask so much of them that they can’t do a good job.

“Starting them young” doesn’t need to mean starting your kids with chores they aren’t coordinated enough for yet. They’ll get to the point where they can easily manage a broom soon enough.

Giving a 4 year old the job of sweeping the floor after meals, he’s not going to be able to get the job done well (let along maneuver a long broom). Instead, give him the job of picking up his toys before you sweep, or clearing over his dishes after meals. Those are things he can do, that are actually helpful to you too!

I want my kids first and foremost to be kids! I don’t need them to do my job for me. So I make sure the chores I expect them to do are things they can actually do at the age level they are at.

about these chore charts for kids

they’re easy to follow

There’s nothing worse than a complicated chore chart! The best chore charts are simple and easy to follow (even for younger children who can’t read).

These chore chart templates divide your child’s household tasks into 5 categories with blank spaces to fill in each week. Having categories makes it easier for kids to follow and remember what they are responsible each day without having to be reminded.

visual reminders are helpful

Having to keep track of what you need to get done each day is hard enough for us as adults. It’s just too much to expect our kids to be able to remember their responsibilities without having them written down!

Having a visual chart hung in the main area of the home makes it so much easier for kids to remember and track what they have or haven’t done yet. And that, keeps you from having to nag at them and remind them all day long!

a list of age-appropriate chores is included

These charts come with printable lists of chore suggestions for each age so you can get started today! Just find the list of chores suggested for your child’s age, and add them to the blank spots on the chart.

Maybe get them involved by asking which tasks they would like to be responsible for!

these lists are cute and fun!

I tried to make this free printable chore chart template cheerful and fun with different color variations for your child to choose from!

Paired with a pack of multicolor dry erase markers, and each child’s name at the top, these charts will be special and reflect their own personal style.

they’re free!

Maybe the best part for you as a parent, these charts are completely free! All you have to do is enter your email address at the bottom of this post.

The free chore chart template, and printable chore list will be sent straight to your inbox for you to print as many times as you want!

how these chore charts work?

1. At the beginning of each week, sit down with your child and fill in a chore for each category on their chart. The bottom space is for a “bonus chore.” This chore could be sort of like the extra credit chore that they can do if they have time.
2. You could also make that a homework spot, or some other task they’re responsible for like feeding the pets. It’s up to you what you want to use that space for.
3. Each day you child will be able to see what they need to get done, checking off each task as they finish it.
4. At the end of the week, you could have a set reward for a completed chore chart. Just a little motivation to look forward to.

Check out these fun kids’ chore charts made for Summer vacation.

how many chores should kids do? (by age)

There isn’t a specific number of chores that children should do a day. It’s up to each family to decide what they feel is the right amount.

Every day I set out to do 5 household chores myself and that’s the number of tasks I give my kids to do each day too. Why 5? It seems to be a manageable number that doesn’t sound like too much or two little to me.

lists of kids chores by age:

chore ideas for kids ages 2-3 years

• getting dressed in the morning
• picking up their toys
• unloading the dryer
• collecting dirty laundry around the house
• setting out their plate for dinner
• clearing over their dishes after meals
• feeding the dog/cat
• dusting with a feather duster
• picking up toys in the yard

chore ideas for kids ages 4-5 years

• tidying up their bedding in the morning
• putting PJs away in the morning
• dusting baseboards
• wiping cabinet doors
• vacuuming with the attachment
• putting clean silverware away
• clearing table after meals
• setting out silverware
• wiping spots off doors
• wiping window ledges
• switching clean clothes to the dryer
• watering plants with the hose
• picking up a specified type of toys
• tidying up their bedroom
• tidying up shoes

chore ideas for kids ages 6-7 years

• making their bed
• gather up dirty laundry
• vacuuming
• loading the dishwasher
• putting clean dishes away
• drying dishes
• water house plants
• weeding the garden
• wiping the table after meals
• cleaning the toilet
• washing windows
• folding and putting laundry away
• setting the drinks out for dinner
• sweeping the deck off
• tidying an area of the house

chore ideas for kids ages 8-9 years

• making their bed
• spraying stains on the laundry
• running the dishwasher
• organizing in drawers
• mopping the floors
• dusting on shelves
• wiping bathroom sink and vanity front
• cleaning mirrors
• cleaning the vehicle windows
• vacuuming the vehicle
• sweeping after meals
• making part of a meal
• weeding in the garden
• tidying their bedroom
• tidying an entire room completely

chore ideas for kids ages 10-12 years

• making their bed
• do the whole laundry process
• hand wash the dishes
• clean the stovetop
• clean the front of the fridge
• wipe down countertops
• sort a toybox
• strip beds
• put sheets back on beds
• dust ceiling fans
• clean a whole bathroom
• clean a bedroom completely
• clean inside a vehicle
• clean the staircase railings
• take the trash out

chore ideas for teens

By the time your kids are teenagers, they should be able to do just about any chores you can do. This is their time to really prepare to live on their own someday!

My adult chore chart system would probably work better for your older children than the kids charts.

how to stick with these chore charts:

Consistency is key with sticking with anything new. And that’s definitely true when it comes to putting a new routine into place.

• Hang them in a main area of the house where they won’t be forgotten.
• Sit down together to fill the charts out at the beginning of the week.
• Use a reward system to encourage each child to get to all of their weekly chores. Maybe celebrate with ice cream or reward with screen time when all of the tasks are finished at the end of the week.
• Don’t skip weeks – the more consistent you can be in sticking with the chore charts, the more it will become a part of your every day routine
• Don’t put off chores until afternoon. The earlier in the day you can knock out chore time, the better.

You know what would help too, is if mom has her own chart too! I think you’d really like using my free printable chore charts for adults!

More Helpful Posts For Mamas:

If you enjoyed this post, I think you might find these other posts helpful too!

• How To Declutter Your Kids Toys
• Nighttime Routine For Moms
• How To Stay on Top of Housework With Little Kids
• How To Store And Organize Kids Clothes
• Start a Kids Capsule Wardrobe

Let me know how your family likes using these printable chore charts by age and what ideas you have in the comments below! Feel free to share this post with friends and family who could use them too!

Pin these steps to try later. Tag @athomeontheprairie on Instagram to share what you’ve made with us!