If you’re pressed for time and looking for ways to get household chores done faster, getting your kids involved is a great solution. When you find age appropriate chores for kids to do, you can save time and teach your kids a valuable lesson.
The good news is, even if you’ve never had your kids do chores before, it’s never too late (or too early!) to start. Chores for kids can be as simple as cleaning up their toys and as involved as mowing the lawn.
Which chores you give to your kids really comes down to finding an age appropriate chores list that works for your family.
Ready to start getting your family more involved in taking care of your home and yard? Keep reading for our best tips on age appropriate chores for kids to do.
Age Appropriate Chores for Toddlers
The best time to start daily chores for kids is when they’re young. The sooner you can start the routine of daily chores, the less likely you’ll spend time fighting with your kids over chores when they’re older. As a bonus – you’ll get more years of help around the house when you start young!
So what are some chores for kids to do when they’re toddlers?
Throwing Away Trash and Recycling
Simply having your kids start throwing away their own trash and recycling is a great way to get kids used to chores at a young age. When they finish a snack and have trash, help them walk it over to the trash can. When they drink the last of the milk, show them how to put the empty jug in the recycling bin.
Putting Dirty Clothes in a Hamper
This is another basic skill that kids can learn from a young age. The sooner you get kids putting their dirty laundry into a hamper, the less likely you’ll be to pick up their dirty socks when they’re older. When your kids get ready for bed or change clothes, show them how to put their clothes in a hamper.
Cleaning Up Toys
While you can certainly limit toy mess by reducing the number of toys in your home, you can also teach your kids to clean up after themselves when messes are made. Schedule two times per day to pick up any toys that are on the floor and not in use. Turn on some music and make it a game by picking toys up by color or in alphabetical order to make chores fun and educational.
Age Appropriate Chores for Elementary School Kids
Once your kids are a little bit older, it’s time to give them more responsibility around the house. They can certainly continue to help with trash, recycling and taking care of their own clothes and toys. But adding in some additional daily chores for kids is a great way to save yourself more time and help them feel more responsible for their home.
Taking Care of Plants
An elementary-aged child can start to take care of watering plants and even pulling weeds in a garden bed. Help them by having set days and/or times to take care of watering so they don’t forget. And teach them how much water to give different varieties of plants for a lifelong skill they can use as an adult.
Feeding Pets
No matter what kind of pet you have – from a dog or cat to a fish or bird – feeding pets is a great, simple chore for an elementary-aged child. You may have to help them the first few times – and provide a reminder when it’s time for feeding – but young kids can easily take over this task.
Cleaning Small Parts of the House
Start teaching your young kids basic cleaning tasks like dusting, sweeping and even using a nontoxic cleaning solution by giving them a small portion of the house to clean on their own. Perhaps they sweep the kitchen after dinner or dust the TV stand every weekend. By helping them learn basic cleaning skills early, they can get the skills they need to take on more advanced age appropriate chores later.
Age Appropriate Chores for Middle & High School
Looking for age appropriate chores for kids to do in middle and high school? Look no further! The older your kids get, the more they can start doing around the house – and the more important it is for them to start building life skills they’ll use when they (eventually) move out of the house.
Lawn Care and Yard Work
Once your kids are teenagers, consider involving them more heavily in yard work and outdoor chores. From raking leaves and mowing the lawn to shoveling snow in the winter, there are plenty of time-consuming outdoor chores your kids can take on to save you time. While these may not be daily chores for kids, they’re still important tasks that give them more life skills and help you out.
Cleaning the Kitchen or Bathroom
While you may not want a younger child in charge of cleaning the toilets or using chemicals, teenagers can be taught to do more involved cleaning jobs in the kitchen, bathroom and other spaces around the house. Teaching them how to safely use cleaning products will also serve them well as they prepare to head out for college or jobs.
Taking Out The Trash
This chore may not be complicated, but it’s a great way to start giving them the responsibility of not just completing a chore – but remembering to complete it too. Tell your older kids it’s their job to get the trash and recycling to the road on time. And if they forget? Maybe you’ll also get the chance to teach them where the dump is!
How to Get Kids to Do Chores
While it’s great to start planning age appropriate chores for kids to do around the house, getting your kids on board is sometimes easier said than done. After all, chores aren’t exactly a fun way to spend their free time.
So how can you make chores for kids an easier process? Starting young is one of the best strategies, but if it’s too late for that then consistency is key. Make an age appropriate chores chart for your family that clearly identifies each person’s job and when it should be completed. Then, stick with it.
Another option to get kids to do chores is to consider offering an incentive, such as an allowance. This is certainly not necessary to get kids on board with helping around the house, but it can provide great motivation and teach them the value of hard work!
By getting your kids more involved with age appropriate chores, you can save yourself a lot of time and energy keeping your house in order. But if the help of your kids is still not enough, consider hiring a cleaning service to take care of weekly – or even monthly – cleaning.
Using a cleaning service is a great way to take care of deeper cleaning tasks or save more of your family time for making memories. If you’re looking for a Hamptons cleaning service, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at A Votre Service.
From typical cleaning services to outdoor maintenance, property management and house watching services, we’d love to help you identify how we can help you around your home.
