Pocket Piggy
There is no magic number of chores for a kid. What works in one house falls apart in another, and a list that suits a calm week is too much in a week full of tests, practices and birthday parties. Still, most families do better with a rough starting point than with a blank page, so here is one, along with how to tell if you have got it wrong.
The short version: fewer than you think, especially at the start. A small list that gets done every day builds more than a long list that gets done some days.
Start with fewer chores than feels right
When parents sit down to plan chores, the list tends to grow. There is a lot that needs doing, and it feels reasonable for everyone to pitch in. The trouble is that a long list is hard to finish, and a list that rarely gets finished teaches kids that chores are never really done.
Starting small does a few things at once:
- Kids can actually complete the list, which feels good and builds momentum.
- You have fewer things to check, so you are more likely to keep checking.
- It is easy to add a chore later. Taking one away can feel like the system is falling apart.
Two or three daily chores is a comfortable place to begin for most kids, plus one or two bigger weekly jobs for kids old enough to handle them.
A rough guide by age
These are starting points, not rules. Your kid might be ready for more, or might need to start lower. Watch how it goes for a couple of weeks and adjust.
Ages 2 to 3: one or two tiny jobs
At this age a chore is really a routine you do together. Put toys in the basket. Carry their cup to the counter. Put dirty clothes in the hamper. One or two of these a day is plenty. The goal is getting used to the idea that everyone helps, not getting anything cleaned. Our printable chart for ages 2 to 3 uses short, simple jobs like these.
Ages 4 to 5: two or three daily chores
Kids this age can do small jobs on their own if the job is clear. Make the bed (roughly). Feed the pet with a scoop you have measured. Set out napkins. Two or three a day works well, usually attached to a routine like getting ready in the morning. See the chart for ages 4 to 5 for ideas.
Ages 6 to 8: three or four daily, one weekly
This is often when chores start to feel like real contributions. Kids can empty part of the dishwasher, sort laundry, water plants or tidy a shared space. Three or four small daily chores plus one weekly job is a good fit for many families. The ages 6 to 8 chart has a mix.
Ages 9 to 12: three to five daily, one or two weekly
Older kids can handle chores with more steps: cleaning a bathroom sink, taking out the bins, helping cook a simple meal, vacuuming a room. They can also manage more independence about when a chore gets done, as long as it is done by a set point. Try the chart for ages 9 to 12.
Teens: fewer, bigger jobs
Teens often do better with a few substantial responsibilities than a long list of small ones. Their own laundry, a regular dinner they cook, mowing the lawn, a room they keep clean. Fewer items, more ownership. There is a teen chore chart for this too.
Count minutes, not chores
"Three chores" can mean three minutes or an hour, depending on the chores. A more useful way to think about it is time. How long does the whole list take on a normal day?
For younger kids, the daily list should take a few minutes in total. For school-age kids, somewhere around ten to twenty minutes is a comfortable load for many families. Teens can do more, especially on weekends. If the list regularly takes longer than you expected, it is probably too long for a school night, even if each job looks small on paper.
It helps to time a chore yourself once. "Tidy your room" might take you four minutes and take a nine-year-old twenty-five, because they are also finding lost things and getting distracted by them. That is worth knowing before you add it to a daily list.
Daily chores and weekly chores do different jobs
Daily chores build habits. They should be short, repeatable, and tied to something that already happens, like breakfast or getting home from school. Making the bed, clearing a plate, feeding the pet.
Weekly chores teach bigger skills. Cleaning a bathroom, vacuuming, changing sheets, helping with a grocery list. These take longer and can be done on a day that suits the family, often the weekend.
Splitting the list this way keeps school nights manageable while still giving kids real responsibility. It also stops the daily list from creeping up, because the bigger jobs have somewhere else to live.
Signs the list is too long
- Chores are getting done in a rush and badly, most days.
- You are negotiating which ones can be skipped.
- Kids are fine for the first chore and fall apart by the third.
- You have stopped checking because there is too much to check.
If you see these, cut the list back and let it succeed for a couple of weeks before adding anything.
Signs the list is too short
- Everything is done in two minutes with no effort.
- Your kid is asking for more to do, or for chores that earn more.
- The chores are all things they would do anyway.
That is a nice problem to have. Add one chore at a time, ideally something that teaches a new skill.
Keep it the same for a while
Whatever number you pick, stick with it for at least a couple of weeks before judging it. The first few days of any new list are a bit bumpy while everyone learns it. Changing the list every few days makes it hard for kids to build a routine and hard for you to see what is actually working.
When things change, like a new school term, a new sport, or a younger sibling getting old enough to help, that is a good time to look at the list again together.
Where to start
If you want a ready-made list to start from, the printable chore charts are grouped by age, with a blank version of each if you would rather write your own. Pick the one for your kid's age, cross off anything that does not fit your house, and stick it where they will see it.
If you'd like the list on a screen
In Pocket Piggy, each chore has its own schedule: every day, on the weekdays you pick, every other week, monthly or just once. That makes it easy to keep a short daily list and a separate weekly job without them crowding each other. It is free with one kid.