Chore Chart by Age (3 to 16): What Kids Can Actually Do at Every Age
Short answer: start around age 3 with one or two simple jobs like picking up toys, then add a little each year: making the bed and feeding pets by 6 to 8, trash, vacuuming and their own laundry by 9 to 12, and real household jobs like cooking a meal and cleaning a bathroom by 13 to 16. Keep the list short and the same every day, and add one new chore at a time.
"What can my kid actually handle?" is the question behind most chore charts that never get finished. Ask too little and kids learn the house runs itself. Ask too much and the chart is dead by Thursday.
Below is the chart we'd hand a friend: kids 3 to 16, built from two pediatric sources, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Children's Wisconsin, plus what's worked in a house with three kids and 11 pets.
Three rules before you print anything
- Start small. Children's Wisconsin says preschoolers can usually handle "one or two simple one-step or two-step jobs," and older kids can manage more (Children's Wisconsin). The AAP adds that for a school-age child who hasn't had chores before, you should introduce one new task at a time, because "a long list can be overwhelming" (HealthyChildren.org).
- Chores stack. Both lists are cumulative. A 10-year-old still picks up their own toys. Each age adds to the last one; it doesn't replace it.
- Same chores, every day. The AAP's advice is to be consistent so chores become "the norm, rather than the exception," and it notes that a chore chart or checklist can help.
One more thing: these are starting points, not tests. Every kid is different, and a 7-year-old who's done chores since 4 can often handle more than a 12-year-old who's never been asked.
Ages 3 to 5: helpers
At this age the chore is half the point and half practice. Children's Wisconsin lists things like picking up toys, folding washcloths and helping set the table for 2 to 3, then putting away clean silverware, clearing off the table, sweeping with a small broom and folding towels for 4 and 5.
Good starter chores:
- Toys back in the bin
- Clothes in the hamper
- Napkins and spoons on the table
- Fold washcloths and small towels
Expect wobbly results. Children's Wisconsin's advice is to teach in steps: show them, do it together, watch them do it, then let them go solo.
Ages 6 to 8: the bed, the table and the pets
This is where real daily chores begin. The AAP's list for 5 to 7 includes making their own beds, setting and clearing the table, putting dirty clothes in the hamper, filling a pet's food dish, emptying wastebaskets, sweeping and sorting laundry. Children's Wisconsin adds unloading the dishwasher and light bathroom cleaning for 6 and 7.
Making the bed is the one that tests everybody. In our house, a half-made bed doesn't count. Our kids snap a photo of the finished chore, and the AI has caught more than one half-made bed and sent it back for a retake. It's not about hospital corners. It's about "done" meaning done.
Ages 9 to 12: real household jobs
By the end of this stretch, kids can carry a real share of the house. The AAP's list for 8 to 10 adds vacuuming, helping make dinner, making their own snacks, walking a pet, putting away their own laundry and putting away groceries. For 11 to 12 it adds cleaning the kitchen, changing bedsheets, doing and folding laundry, cleaning the bathroom, washing the car and cooking a simple meal with supervision.
Children's Wisconsin puts "take care of pets" and bringing the trash to the curb at 8 to 9, and mowing the lawn and mopping at 10 to 12.
This is also the age where kids get very good at technically finishing a chore. "Bring the towels in" can mean the towels stay in the backyard. "Clean your room" can mean everything under the bed. Spell out what done looks like before the chore starts. (I wrote more about that in how to get kids to do chores without nagging.)
Ages 13 to 16: running a piece of the house
The AAP list stops at 12. Children's Wisconsin's 13+ list adds cleaning the tub and shower, making meals alone and ironing clothes, on top of everything before it.
In practice, a teen can own whole jobs, not just tasks:
- All of their own laundry, start to finish
- One family dinner a week
- A bathroom, top to bottom
- The lawn, the trash and recycling, or the pet care, as their department
This is the bridge to adult life. My dad always says, "You don't own things. Things own you." A teenager with a phone, a room full of stuff and a dog that needs walking is learning exactly that. The stuff takes care, whether or not anyone feels like it.
The chart
| Age | Start with | Add when they're ready |
|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 | Pick up toys, clothes in the hamper, help set the table | Put away clean silverware, fold towels, clear the table |
| 6 to 8 | Make the bed, set and clear the table, fill a pet's food dish | Empty wastebaskets, sort laundry, unload the dishwasher |
| 9 to 12 | Vacuum, put away their own laundry, take care of pets, trash to the curb | Clean the kitchen, change sheets, cook a simple meal with supervision |
| 13 to 16 | Do their own laundry, clean a bathroom, make easy meals | Make a meal alone, own one household job start to finish |
Pick two to four from the left column for each kid. Move to the right column one chore at a time.
How to make the chart actually stick
- Don't chase perfection, but define done. Both sources warn against insisting on perfection, especially with young kids. That's different from accepting a pile of clothes stuffed out of sight. Agree on what done looks like, then let the small stuff go.
- Praise the effort. The AAP says to praise "your child's effort in each task, not the outcome," and says honest praise "can be the most effective way of motivating your child."
- Be the same every day. Children's Wisconsin warns that if kids aren't expected to follow through, "they might start putting chores off in the hope that someone else will do them."
- Put the fun after the work. In our house the apps stay locked until the day's chores are done. No chores, no apps. Chores done, apps open. The chart stopped being a suggestion the day it was tied to something the kids cared about.
Starting young matters, too. A University of Minnesota study of 84 kids linked starting chores at 3 or 4 with better outcomes as young adults. It's a small study and shows a link, not proof (here's what it actually found), but it's one more reason not to wait.
Questions parents ask
What chores can a 3-year-old do?
Simple one- or two-step jobs: picking up toys, putting clothes in the hamper, folding washcloths and helping set the table. Children's Wisconsin says preschoolers can usually handle one or two simple jobs at a time.
How many chores should a child have?
Start with two to four daily chores, the same ones every day. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests adding one new task at a time, because a long list can be overwhelming.
What chores should a 12-year-old be doing?
By 11 to 12, the AAP lists cleaning the kitchen, changing bedsheets, doing and folding laundry, cleaning the bathroom, washing the car and cooking a simple meal with supervision, on top of earlier chores like making their bed and caring for pets.
What chores should teenagers do?
Teens can own whole household jobs: all of their own laundry, cleaning a bathroom, mowing, and making meals on their own. Children's Wisconsin's 13+ list includes cleaning the tub and shower, making meals alone and ironing clothes.
Let the rule do the nagging
ChoreScroll locks the apps you choose on your kid's iPhone until today's chores are done. They snap a live photo, AI checks it, and the apps unlock. Free for up to 2 kids, no card needed.
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