Age-Appropriate Chores for Kids

A reader asked, after I posted about our chore checklist place mats, about the types of chores that I assign to my children, who are ages 7 and 3. Before I answer that question, I just want to say holy cow! It's freezing here. This ice build-up is on the inside of our patio door:


My thermometer says that it's a whole 7 degrees outside, and the kids don't have school again, because it snowed all day yesterday. It appears that we got at least a foot of snow, and I'm worried about my poor husband, who has to go out this morning to look at houses. He's wearing his boots and long underwear, but still...it's cold!

I'm wondering what on earth I'm going to do to keep my kids occupied today. Yesterday, we spent a large part of the day thoroughly cleaning and organizing the playroom, and then we made a chocolate pudding cake, and a batch of pizza dough so we could have individual pizzas for supper. But what to do today? I think it's way too cold to send them outside, though I'm sure they'll object to that. Any ideas?

Anyway, moving on to chores. We start encouraging our children to help around the house after their second birthdays, by giving them simple chores, and the guidance they need to complete them. For example, at age 3, Cakes has these responsibilities:

□ Put laundry in hamper
□ Put away toys in basket (this refers to her labeled basket in our living room, which is a temporary home for stuff left laying around)
□ Help tidy room
□ Help clean up playroom

She also likes to help with other things, like dusting, but this isn't part of her regular routine. Ordinarily, she doesn't take initiative and do her chores independently - we have to prod her along and keep her focused, because she's very easily distracted. This is typical for a three-year-old, and her concentration will improve as she gets older.

At age 7, Bee has the ability to take responsibility, and she does fairly well, as long as she has her checklist as a reminder of what she needs to do. Her chores are:

Morning
□ Brush teeth

After School
□ Hang up coat and backpack
□ Shoes on mat
□ Homework
□ Reading and vocabulary

After supper
□ Clear table
□ Wipe table
□ Sweep under table
□ Put away toys in basket

Bedtime
□ Brush teeth
□ Laundry in hamper

Saturday
□ Put away toys in basket
□ Tidy room
□ Clean up playroom

As you see, her chores don't involve scrubbing toilets or floors. Instead we give her tasks that focus on responsibility for herself, her schoolwork, and her things. This is a good way to work up to chores that help maintain the household for the whole family. She already has a few of these on her list - clearing and wiping the table after supper, and sweeping up - and she seems to enjoy them.

I mentioned yesterday that we give our children an allowance when they start school, based on their grade - 50 cents/week in kindergarten, $1 in first grade, etc. However, I want to emphasize that we don't pay our children for doing their regular chores, because they are expected to contribute, as members of our family. We might pay them to do extra chores, above and beyond their usual responsibilities (for example, my husband paid Bee to pick up brick chips this summer, after our old chimney was knocked down), but we give them an allowance simply to teach them about financial responsibility, and we have no qualms about witholding allowance if they've been disobedient, irresponsible, or defiant.

It's been my experience that most children at this age like helping around the house, and we should take the opportunity to train them for the future, while they're still willing to learn!