New Year's Resolution: How to Get Your Kids to Help With Chores (The Best Chores Per Age Group)

Running a house is difficult. But nothing makes homemaking more difficult than a messy, disorganized house. If you’re looking to turn things around in the coming year, you may not have to look any further than the young members of your household. Kids can make great helpers if you’re feeling like there’s not enough time in the day to commit to the cleanliness of your home. When kids help with chores, it helps them develop a sense of responsibility and ownership. Here are 14 age-appropriate chores to give your kids in the new year.

Lauren Kolyn

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Toddlers: Make Bed

Toddlers should be able to make their bed with the help of a parent. Making your bed first thing in the morning is a great way to start the day with a sense of accomplishment. Your young ones can also learn to fold their blankets and fluff and place pillows on their bed.

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Toddlers: Take Care of Pets

Children have special bonds with their pets and can be part of your furry friends’ care routine. Your toddler can help fill water bowls with supervision to ensure there aren’t any unexpected puddles of water on the floor.

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Preschoolers: Clean up Toys

Some of the greatest messes come from scattered toys. It’s important to encourage kids to play and use their imagination, but it is just as important to encourage them to pick up after themselves. Four and five year olds can be responsible for putting toys and gadgets back in their respective places.

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Preschoolers: Help Sort Laundry

Your little one can help you out in the laundry room by sorting through the laundry. You can teach them how to set aside clothing and items by their colour and to read labels to ensure items are washed and dried in the appropriate cycle. This is a great skill for kids between the ages of four and five.

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Preschoolers: Set Table

Mealtime is a family affair. For kids too young to cook in the kitchen, they can help out by setting the table. Ensure you can spare some attention to supervise them balancing delicate dishes or handling sharp cutlery. This chore is perfect for kids aged four or five.

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School-Aged Children: Vacuuming

No one likes a dusty home: it can trigger allergies and impact your family members’ overall health and wellbeing. Family members starting at ages five and six can help with vacuuming. This is a great opportunity to promote attention to detail, showing your young ones how to spot often overlooked spaces that are prone to gathering dust.

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School-Aged Children: Taking out Trash

Trash piles up fast in a family home. To stay on top of your garbage, enlist your kids to help bag up your trash and take out the compost and recycling.

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School-Aged Children: Rake Yard

Kids can have fun outside while helping keep the yard clean. If your child is too young for more complicated landscaping tasks, they can still pitch in by raking the leaves and keeping the yard tidy. This is a great chore for kids aged seven and eight.

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School-Aged Children: Dishes

Cleanup after cooking a big meal doesn’t always have to fall on you. Younger family members can help out by washing dishes or rinsing plates, bowls and cutlery before loading them in the dishwasher.

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School-Aged Children: Test Smoke Detector

We often forget to check our smoke detectors, which can prove deadly in the event of a gas leak or fire. You can keep a regular testing schedule by putting this task on a chore wheel for your kids. Checking your smoke detector requires getting up and balancing on chairs or ladders, so this task is probably best suited to kids over eight years of age and should only be done with an adult present.

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Preteens: Clean Windows

Windows

free from streaks and smudges can really up the cleanliness of a home. Preteens can help with washing windows and keeping them free from dust and pesky thumbprints.

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Preteens: Mow Lawn

If you have a preteen at home, they can help with yard up keeping by getting handy with the lawn mower and weed whacker. The lawn mower can be hard to manage, so it’s best to leave this chore to kids over 11. Ensure that a parent or older family member is on hand when they’re first learning to operate the yard tools.

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Teens: Cooking

Teen years are a great time to pass on cooking skills or hand down favourite family recipes. Kids in high school can help out at home by preparing their own lunch or cooking meals for other family members.

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Teens: Clean Bathroom

If your kids have their own bathroom, putting them in charge of cleaning up their own mess is a great new year’s resolution. They can also be in charge of a family powder room. Nothing teaches you the hard work of cleaning like scrubbing a toilet.

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Teens: Deep Cleaning

If your teenager is looking for a way to earn an allowance or some spare spending money, have them do a routine deep clean of some of the household appliances, like the microwave or fridge.