Chore chart ideas by age, from three to twelve

31 October 2026 · Sitaray Team

A chore chart works when the chores fit the child. Ask a four-year-old to load the dishwasher and you’ll both end up frustrated. Ask a ten-year-old only to put their shoes away and they’ll feel, rightly, that you don’t trust them with much. Here are chore ideas that suit each age, and a few things that make any chore chart last longer than the first week.

Ages 3 to 5: helping alongside you

At this age a chore is something your child does with you, not instead of you. Keep each one short, physical and easy to see when it’s finished.

• Put toys back in their box before dinner
• Put dirty clothes in the laundry basket
• Feed a pet, with you measuring the food
• Put their shoes on the rack when they come in
• Help set the table: spoons, cups, napkins
• Water a plant with a small watering can

Use pictures rather than words on the chart, and give the star straight away. A three-year-old won’t connect a reward on Friday with a tidy room on Monday.

Ages 6 to 8: doing it on their own

Children this age can do a whole job from start to finish, as long as the job is clear. “Tidy your room” is vague. “Books on the shelf, clothes in the drawer, nothing on the floor” is a job.

• Make their bed in the morning
• Pack their school bag the night before
• Clear their own plate and cup after meals
• Sort the clean washing into piles for each person
• Wipe the table after dinner
• Read for 20 minutes
• Brush teeth morning and night without being reminded

This is a good age to let them mark a chore done themselves, with you checking now and then. It builds the habit of owning the job.

Ages 9 to 12: real responsibility

Older children can take on chores that genuinely help the family, and they notice when a chore is busywork. Give them jobs that matter, and a bit more say in how they’re done.

• Load or empty the dishwasher
• Hoover a room, or sweep the kitchen
• Take the bins out on collection day
• Help cook one simple meal a week
• Fold and put away their own washing
• Look after a younger brother or sister for a short time, with you nearby
• Do homework before screen time, every school day

At this age, a chore that repeats weekly (“clean the bathroom sink on Saturday”) works as well as daily ones, and teaches them to plan.

How many chores?

Fewer than you think. Three to five daily chores is plenty for most children, plus one or two weekly ones for older children. A chart with fifteen items is a chart that gets ignored. Start small; you can always add one when the first few have become habits.

Make chores worth different amounts

Not every chore is equal. Making the bed takes two minutes; emptying the dishwasher takes ten. If they earn the same, children quickly work out which ones to skip. Give bigger jobs more stars, and you’ll find the bigger jobs get done.

It’s also fair for the same chore to be worth more to a younger child, for whom it’s harder. In Sitaray you can set a different number of stars for each child on the same task.

Decide who checks

Some chores you’ll want to see for yourself before the star is given. Others you can leave to your child’s honesty. A good rule: check new chores and ones that are easy to skip, and trust the ones that have become routine. Moving a chore from “a parent checks” to “trust” is itself a reward, and children notice it.

Keep the rewards in view

A chore chart on its own is a list. What makes it work is that the stars add up to something your child wants. Agree the rewards together: screen time, choosing the weekend film, a trip to the park, or saving up for something bigger. When children can see their stars growing towards a goal, the chores stop being the point.

A chore chart on your phone

Paper charts get lost behind the fridge magnets. Sitaray keeps the chart, the stars and the rewards in one place that both parents can see, and children can tick off their own chores on a tablet or phone with a PIN. The library has ready-made chores for every age, so you don’t have to start from a blank page.