Kid’s Chore Charts

Summer is almost here and that means lots of swimming, evenings with kids chasing fireflies and lots of popsicles. It also means my kids get their new Kid’s Chore Charts! And I am going to surprise you here… they are always pumped to get them!

I did not grow up having specific chores as a young child but I had other expectations placed on me. We were expected to do our best in school, we got a part time job by the time we could drive and we were expected to steward our allowance to get any fun things we wanted or to put gas in our car. My parents taught us responsibility and how to handle our money.

And I was grateful. I will never forget going to college and my random college roommate from another state came up to me after about a week and asked how to do laundry. She went hours away from home to live on her own and did not even know how to wash her clothes. Parents… we want to raise a capable generation!

And the stats on chores and kids are so cool…

An 85-year ongoing study conducted by Harvard Research has found a strong connection between doing chores and later professional success and happiness. The findings showed that shared responsibilities help children develop greater self-worth, confidence, work ethic, and empathy for others.

Kids LOVE being a part of a team. They LOVE seeing how CAPABLE they are. We tell our kids that we are raising CONTRIBUTORS not CONSUMERS. So from a very young age they get to take part in caring for their things and our home.

Today I am sharing EDITABLE chore charts in age groups. Take them, LAMINATE them so the child can make off the chore each day with a dry erase marker and watch their confidence grow! CLICK any of the chore charts to go to an editable version.

Common Questions from Moms:

Do my kids have to help other than these charts? Yes! We have a motto in our house.. find a need a fill it. They have their charts but I may still ask them to watch baby sister a minute, clean up the playhouse, put away books, help make breakfast.. you get the idea.

Do my kids get “paid” for their chores? Yes! Matthew 10:10 NLT says “those who work deserve to be fed.” or the NIV says ” a worker is worth his keep.” So we pay our kids a small amount each week when they complete their chores for the entire week. So, from a young age we are able to teach them how money works. Tithing, saving, spending… how to handle money wisely. It is so fun!

How long do the chores usually take? This varies by age but usually less than one hour. Anyone that knows me knows that outside play and creative indoor play, plus reading, is one of my highest values. So these chores leave most of the day for being a kid.

****READ THIS DISCLAIMER: Parents, your kids can do this! Now here is the thing… they can’t do it like you.. they won’t. They are younger and a different personality. So you have to let go of any desire for perfection here. The goal is not perfection.. the goal is raising capable kids.

Ages 3-5

Parents, your kids can do this! Now here is the thing… they can’t do it like you.. they won’t. They are younger and a different personality. So you have to let go of any desire for perfection here. The goal is not perfection.. the goal is raising capable kids.

They can make their bed. They can help unload the dishwasher. They can take their dishes to the sink. They can get dressed. They can brush their teeth. They can help clean up the playroom. We have lots of big windows in our house so even my 2 year old loves to help clean them.

This chart is made with pictures so once you teach them the picture, the child can guide themselves in their chores! The chart is editable so you can change the name, change the unicorns to another image and change the chores to match your kid or house!

Ages 6-8

This is the chore chart for my 6 year old for the summer. It kinda walks her through a morning routine on the bottom row, gives her chores to do in the day on the middle row, and does a nighttime routine on the bottom row. Eat breakfast, make bed, brush teeth, get dressed, put clothes in dirty hamper, feed dog, play outside, water plants, clean up playroom, do a little school work like letters and red words, unload dishwasher, brush teeth, take bath, put on pajamas and read 20 minutes. Change it how you want!

Ages 9-11

This is a fun age where kids really get self governed, self motivated because chores can even more be tied to extra privileges, and they are really able to start doing some cleaning. I also teach my kids to do their own laundry the summer they are 10 or 11 years old.

On these older kid charts you will notice a few X’s. Most of their chores are everyday chores. A few (like cleaning a bathroom or practicing the piano) are not everyday tasks so the X indicates that is the day they are to do the specific chore. You can edit those as you want in the editable link!

Ages 12+

This is where we are really training these kiddos to leave our house one day and be functioning adults. Our son can do so much… clean bathrooms, vacuum, mop, he mows our 2.5 acres every week, help with siblings, read a many novels…. really cater this to your kids gifts, talents and then just some plain hard work. They will thank you for it!

Moms and Dads…. what did you think? Helpful? Get some ideas? Please SHARE this post and leave a comment! You got this!