Dirty dishes. Messy bedrooms. Toys on the living room floor. Some days, there just isn’t a good way to avoid the chore wars. But there is always tomorrow, and you can be proactive. Ask yourself, What chores are important for my children to learn, and what are they capable of doing?
Before finding the answer, recognize the difference between a chore (an ongoing task that benefits the household) and a life skill(an activity that children should know how to do before living on their own, such as handling money). The following list is not a life-skills checklist. It is a list of age-appropriate chores.
As you view it, remember that every child matures at a different pace. Adjust this chart to what you know about your children’s skills and talents, and realize that no child should do all of the chores listed below every day. (And if you want to set the scene for your kids, have them listen to Signed, Sealed and Committed, an Adventures in Odyssey album in which some kids threaten to go on a chore strike. Or have them read about some of the chores that kids did in Jericho within the story “Trapped!” in Bible Kidventures: Stories of Danger and Courage.)
The following list is only meant as a guide and reflects the types of chores that many children in specific age ranges are capable of completing. And we’ve included some links from some of these chores that offer hands-on, practical ways to train your children to do them. Hopefully, these general guidelines may help your children succeed in personal and family responsibility:
To help teach our children responsibility for their pets (a frog, guinea pig and bird), we made sure the cages were centrally located in our house. The animals' homes never went into a bedroom because it was too easy to overlook their care when they were out of sight. With everyone in the family seeing our pets daily, we kept their cages clean. And yes, it was a family effort. For example, one person might hold the guinea pig while another swept out the shavings and mess and a third person quickly cleaned the floor. We all learned to play with and care for each animal. And through it all, we made family memories. We still talk about our whistling guinea pig that pleaded for treats whenever the fridge door opened.
Note: This age can be trained to use a family chore chart.
Prior to a family outing, I set the timer for 15 minutes and call for a "quick clean." Children scramble to straighten up assigned rooms while I gather belongings scattered around the rest of the house. When the timer goes off, they put away my pile, and we head out the door of our clutter-free home! (Fifteen minutes also works well for yard work.)
Note: This age can be supervised to use a family chore chart.
Note: This age can be supervised to use a family chore chart.
Our guests offer parents practical advice on teaching children responsibility by giving them age-appropriate chores.
Sheila Seifert, M.A., is the editorial director of parenting content for Focus on the Family magazine and FocusOnTheFamily.com and the founder of Simple Literature.
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