Most chore charts online assume your kid is calmly organizing a bookshelf at age 5. Real life is messier. Kids develop at different speeds, your kid is your kid, and "chores" sometimes means "the thing my child did once last week with a lot of supervision."
This is a practical, age-by-age list: what kids can realistically do at 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14+, what to expect from each age, and where the line is between "they can technically do this" and "you'll spend an hour helping and then redo it." Skip to your child's age, or start with the chart.
The chores-by-age chart (print this)
| Age | Daily chores | Weekly chores | New this year | What "done" looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Put toys away, clothes in hamper, carry plate to counter | Help feed a pet, help water plants | Wiping up their own spills | With you, with prompts, and it counts |
| 5 | Make the bed (roughly), get dressed, put shoes away | Match socks, help set the table | Clearing their own plate | Mostly alone, a reminder or two |
| 6 | Make the bed, brush teeth, pack school bag | Tidy bedroom (broad strokes), set the table | Unloading utensils from the dishwasher | Alone with a checklist, you inspect |
| 7 | Everything at 6, plus clear the table after meals | Take laundry out of the dryer, sort it | Feeding the pet without being asked | Alone, you check at the end of the day |
| 8 | Bed, teeth, bag, pet, clear table | Vacuum a room, wipe kitchen counters, take out trash | Packing their own lunch (from a template) | Their job, not "helping." You spot-check |
| 9 | Same daily routine, no prompts expected | Put away clean laundry, clean the bathroom sink | Simple cooking with supervision (pasta, eggs) | Reliable on the routine; new chores need a walkthrough |
| 10 | Same, plus keeping their own space tidy | Bathroom sink and mirror, sweep, help with groceries | Walking the dog (depending on the dog) | Owns the routine; you notice when it slips, not before |
| 11 | Full morning and evening routine | Their own laundry, mop a floor, unload the whole dishwasher | Cooking one simple meal start to finish | Trained once, then trusted |
| 12 | Same | Clean the whole bathroom, yard work, groceries | Managing their own homework schedule | Contributing, not helping |
| 13 | Same | Same, plus babysit a sibling for short stretches | Planning and cooking a family meal | 3–5 hours of household work a week is fair |
| 14+ | Same | Shared spaces (kitchen and bathroom), full laundry, bigger projects | Personal admin: packing for trips, their own schedule | Everything an adult can. The question is whether they do it |
Want this on the fridge? Our chore chart for kids guide shows how to set one up so it lasts past week three.
Three rules before you use it:
Independent doesn't mean alone. A 6-year-old "doing the dishes" probably means rinsing while you load. That counts. Don't wait for them to do it like an adult before letting them start.
Quality drops at first. That's the cost. A bed your 7-year-old made looks lumpy. Resist redoing it in front of them. Let it stay lumpy for a few weeks. The skill catches up.
Pick the right entry point. If your child is 9 and has never done a chore, don't start with the 9-year-old row. Start with the 5-year-old row and move up over a few months. You're building a habit, not catching up on a deficit.
Chores for 4-year-olds
At 4, the goal is familiarity, not productivity. They're helping, and that's enough. Everything is done with you, with prompts, sometimes with a song.
- Put toys away at the end of the day
- Put dirty clothes in the hamper
- Carry their plate to the kitchen counter
- Wipe up their own spills with a cloth
- Help feed pets (you measure, they pour)
- Help water plants
- Match socks when laundry comes out
You will not hit zero parental involvement at this age. That's fine. What you're doing is laying groundwork: chores are a normal thing this family does, and you're part of the family.
Chores for 5-year-olds
Five is when "helping" starts to become "doing." They can follow a two-step instruction and they love being trusted.
- Make the bed, roughly (a pulled-up comforter is a made bed at 5)
- Get dressed on their own
- Put shoes and coat where they belong
- Clear their own plate and cup
- Help set the table with unbreakables
- Sort laundry by color
- Put away their own clean clothes, with the drawer labeled
One prompt per chore is normal. Two is fine. Five means the chore is too big; split it.
Chores for 6-year-olds
This is when chores become a real category. Kids this age can handle a daily routine if you build it for them, and the trick is making it visual. A checklist on the fridge or in an app does more than verbal reminders ever will.
- Make the bed
- Brush teeth without being told (eventually)
- Pack their school bag
- Set the table
- Tidy their bedroom, broad strokes
- Unload utensils and unbreakables from the dishwasher
- Water plants on their own
What changes at 6 is inspection. You stop doing it alongside them and start checking it afterward. That shift matters more than any single chore.
Chores for 7-year-olds
Seven-year-olds can run their own morning and evening routine with a checklist and hold one or two weekly jobs on top.
- Everything on the 6-year-old list
- Clear the table after meals
- Take laundry out of the dryer and bring it where it goes
- Feed the pet without being asked
- Wipe the bathroom sink
- Help put groceries away
This is also the age when "why do I have to?" arrives. The honest answer works best: because you live here, and everyone who lives here does something.
Chores for 8-year-olds
Eight is the turning point. Chores stop being "helping the parent" and become "their job in the family." We wrote a full guide to this age: chores for 8-year-olds.
- Make the bed daily, no reminders
- Vacuum a room
- Wipe down kitchen counters
- Take the trash out
- Pack their own lunch from a template
- Help cook simple meals (sandwiches, pasta with supervision)
- Fold and put away their own laundry
This is also the age kids start comparing. "It's not fair, my brother only has to do X." Get ahead of it: spell out who does what and why. If you have more than one kid, our guide to chore fairness between siblings covers the rotating schedule that keeps the peace.
Chores for 9-year-olds
By 9 the daily routine should run without prompts. New chores still need a one-time walkthrough, then they're on their own.
- The full daily routine: bed, teeth, bag, pet, table
- Put away clean laundry in their drawers
- Clean the bathroom sink and mirror
- Simple cooking with supervision: scrambled eggs, pasta, toast
- Sweep the kitchen floor
- Take responsibility for one shared space (the shoe rack, the recycling)
A 9-year-old can also start to own a small budget decision. If you're thinking about pocket money, our allowance guide covers when to start and how much.
Chores for 10-year-olds
Ten-year-olds can hold real weekly responsibilities and manage their own space. You notice when it slips, not before.
- Keep their own room tidy without a reminder
- Bathroom sink, mirror, and counter
- Sweep or vacuum shared areas
- Help with the grocery shop: carry, unpack, put away
- Walk the dog, depending on the dog
- Water the garden, rake leaves, shovel snow
The question at 10 shifts from "can they?" to "do they, without being asked?" That's the muscle you're building now, and it's the one that matters most later.
Chores for 11-year-olds
Now they should be carrying real load. Not helping; contributing.
- Their own laundry, start to finish (one training session, then a reminder or two)
- Mop floors
- Unload and reload the whole dishwasher
- Cook one simple meal from start to finish
- Manage their own homework schedule with light oversight
- Clean the bathroom, all of it
A reasonable weekly target at this age is 3–5 hours of household work. That's not a crusher. That's basic citizenship in a family.
Chores for 12-year-olds
Twelve-year-olds can do most of what an adult does around the house. The difference is consistency.
- Everything at 11, reliably
- Yard work: mowing (if you have a lawn and they're ready), weeding, raking
- Grocery shopping with a list, including the store
- Plan and cook one family meal a week
- Babysit a younger sibling for a short stretch
- Deep-clean one shared room a week
Chores for 13-year-olds
At 13 the conversation is less about which chores and more about ownership. Give them a domain, not a list.
- Own a room: the kitchen after dinner, the bathroom, the laundry
- Cook a full family meal weekly
- Longer stretches minding younger siblings
- Bigger projects: car washing, garage clean-out, seasonal jobs
- Their own personal admin: packing for trips, organizing schoolwork
If you're weighing whether any of this should be paid, our guide to whether to pay kids for chores lays out the routine-versus-extras split most families land on.
Chores for teens (14 and up)
Teens can do everything an adult can, technically. The trick is getting them to actually do it.
- Cook full family meals weekly
- Their own laundry end to end, without reminding
- Clean shared spaces including kitchen and bathroom
- Maintain their own schedule for school, activities, and chores
- Mind younger siblings for longer stretches
- Help with bigger projects: shopping, garden work, car washing
- Manage personal admin: packing for trips, organizing schoolwork
By 16, the question is no longer "what can they do?" It's "are they doing what they can?" If you're looking for something that works on a teenager's own phone, our guide to chore apps for teens covers what to check first.
Who pays for what
The "should kids be paid for chores" question deserves its own conversation, but in brief:
Routine chores are unpaid. Making your bed, packing your bag, taking out the trash: these are how you contribute to the family.
Bigger jobs beyond the routine earn something. Washing the car, deep-cleaning the bathroom, mowing the lawn: these are extras.
This way kids learn both things at once. Contribution doesn't get rewarded automatically, but effort beyond the baseline does.
When to add more
The right time to add a new chore is about three months after the current ones become routine. If your 8-year-old has made their bed reliably for six weeks, they're ready to also tidy the bedroom weekly. Add slowly. Maintain. Build.
Where Stimul8 helps
Stimul8 makes a chore routine actually run. You set up the daily and weekly chores by age in the app, using templates for ages 6–15 or your own. Your kid ticks each chore off in the app; you approve with one tap; points land. Points add up toward a reward your child picked, like a Roblox or Amazon gift card, or cash.
You don't have to remember the chart, count the stickers, or hand over the reward. The app does that part. Your kid sees the points climb, and the routine starts running itself. It's free, with no subscription.
Try this week
Pick one chore from the row above your child's age and one from their actual row. Add the easier one as a morning thing and the harder one as a weekly thing. Don't add five at once. Don't make a colorful chart on Sunday night. Just start.
Three months from now, the routine will be invisible. That's the goal.
Frequently asked questions
What chores can a 4-year-old do?
Putting toys away, putting dirty clothes in the hamper, carrying their plate to the counter, wiping their own spills, and helping feed a pet or water plants. Everything is done with you and with prompts. At 4, "helping" is the whole point.
What chores should an 8-year-old do?
Daily: make the bed, brush teeth, pack their bag, clear the table. Weekly: vacuum a room, wipe the kitchen counters, take out the trash, fold and put away their own laundry. Eight is when chores become their job rather than "helping."
How many chores should a kid have?
Fewer than you think, done consistently. One or two daily routine chores plus one or two weekly jobs is plenty for ages 5–9. From about 11, three to five hours of household work a week is a fair total.
At what age should kids start doing chores?
Around 3 or 4, as helping alongside a parent. Real independent chores with a checklist start around 6. If your child is older and hasn't started, begin with the 5-year-old list regardless of their age and move up over a few months.
Should kids get paid for chores?
Most families split it: routine chores (bed, bag, trash) are unpaid because they're part of living together; bigger extras (car washing, deep cleaning, yard work) can earn something. See our full guide on paying kids for chores.
How do I get my kid to do chores without nagging?
Make the routine visual instead of verbal, keep the list short, inspect instead of supervise, and tie completion to something the kid chose. A chart on the fridge works; an app that tracks points toward a reward they picked works better, because you stop being the reminder.
