Overview: Do want your kids to do chores but aren’t sure what tasks your child should be able to handle? Check out this Age Appropriate Chore List for Children 9 years to 12 years.
The older children get, the more helpful they should be to the family. If your children have been doing chores around the house since they were little, you are well aware of how beneficial this has been for your family at this point.
At these ages, your kids can handle even more responsibility.
Remember that it isn’t always easy to get our kids to begin doing chores. But the investment of time and effort that we put into the process will be worth it in the long run.
And having our children learn life skills and help run the household isn’t just helpful for us. it’s also extremely important for them.
Some millennials are actually beginning to take “adulting” classes because they don’t know how to function well in the real world. You don’t want that to be necessary for your child!
Get them involved in the daily household routine and help them to become responsible adults!
Below are some age-appropriate chores for children ages 9-12.
Age-appropriate chore list for children 9 years to 12 years:
In Their Room
- Change sheets and put dirty sheets in the hamper.
- Complete responsibility for their rooms on a daily basis (make the bed; and put clothes, toys, and projects away; and straighten dresser drawers and closet)
- Pack their own suitcase.
The Rest of the House
- Assist in household projects/repairs (painting, etc.)
- Clean the bathroom.
- Cut flowers and make a centerpiece.
- Do chores without a reminder.
- Do more difficult cleaning projects (scrubbing kitchen floor, windows)
- Do simple ironing.
- Empty garbage pails in the house.
- Feeding baby and younger siblings
- Fold blankets.
- Get own snacks
- Help others with their work when asked.
- Help prepare simple meals.
- Help rearrange the furniture. Help plan the layout.
- Help wash the car.
- Help with defrosting and cleaning the refrigerator.
- Increased responsibilities for younger siblings (dressing infants/toddlers, entertaining them for longer periods, helping with school work)
- Learn to wash dishes independently.
- Make more complex meals/snacks (pour and make tea, coffee, and instant drinks, beginning meal planning).
- More difficult cleaning projects (scrubbing floors, etc.)
- Operate the washer and dryer.
- Polish silverware, copper, or brass items.
- Put away groceries
- Put siblings to bed and dress them.
- Run own bathwater.
- Sew buttons and sew rips in seams.
- Simple first aid.
- Take care of younger siblings with a parent at home.
- Wait on guests.
- Wash and dry dishes or load/unload the dishwasher.
β Related Content: 10 Simple Chore Tips that will Transform Your Family
In the Yard
- Build a campfire.
- Check and add oil to the car under supervision.
- Clean patio furniture.
- Clean pool and hot tub.
- Clean up animal “messes” in the yard and house.
- Cleaning yard
- Gather wood for the fireplace.
- Get items ready for BBQ (charcoal, hamburgers).
- Help build things.
- Help with car maintenance (help with minor repairs, learn tool usage, wash/wax).
- Learn the purpose and usage of tools (lawnmower, hand tools, etc.)
- Paint fence or shelves.
- Pick fruit off of trees.
- Rake leaves.
- Take pet(s) for walks.
- Unsupervised yard work (i.e., lawn mowing, edging, clean-up, gardening).
Away from Home
- Cross streets unassisted
- Do neighborhood chores.
- Handle sums of money up to $5.00.
- Responsible for a paper route.
- Summer jobs (lawn mowing, dog sitting, babysitting, odd jobs for vacationers).
Etiquette
- Answer telephone and take messages.
- Help write simple letters.
- Receive and answer their own mail.
- Write thank-you notes.
Also, be sure to check out our Age-Appropriate Chore Lists for other age groups as this list builds on those created for younger age groups.
I’ve also created a FREE, 15-page Chores Pack which is filled with chores list suggestions for the various age groups. It also contains several different chore chart templates to choose from. You can edit these chore charts online and then print them out. Or print blank copies first and then fill them in by hand. The choice is yours!
You can receive access to this FREE chore pack by subscribing below.
Question: How about you? What chores have you been able to give your child? How has giving your child chores helped to build their character? Please leave a comment below.
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Thank-you! I post once a week. I hope you’re able to find lots of useful information. π
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Thanks so much
Do you know the name of the scavenger hunt where kids and adults look for clues and find a box with a stamp in it? Then they stamp their notebook and also stamp the notebook that was hidden….
Thanks so much,
Adrienne
Pretty sure you’re talking about geocaching. π
That would be letterboxing (like geocaching but less high-tech and uses stamps with log books rather than exchanging random trinkets). We love letterboxing! We tried geocaching and may go back to that when the kids are older and can use my phone for gps etc, but for now, letterboxing which enables them to follow clues appropriate for any age, is a lot more fun!
Hey, thanks, Sara!!!
Thanks for the chores. I can’t wait to start them. Hey, do you have ideas for younger children’s chores like for 3-5 year old? I think you do, you have everything.
Actually, I do have a list for that age group. Here is a page which lists all of the chore lists on my blog:
https://www.homeschool-your-boys.com/age-appropriate-chore-list.html
And here are the pages you’re looking for:
https://www.homeschool-your-boys.com/chores-for-kids-2-3.html
https://www.homeschool-your-boys.com/chores-for-kids-4-5.html
Hope that helps! π
It is very important to give the children chores that are appropriate for their age. I have a 9 year-old girl and a 5-year old boy so when trying to include them in the house cleaning and house maintenance, I think what would be the best for each one of them. Thank you for the list! I have a much clearer vision of what cleaning jobs I can give to both of them. Really useful post! Thank you!
You’re welcome! Glad I could help. π
As a 12 year old I do almost ever chore on that list (my bro puts away dishes and daddy likes to do the lawn) and take care of 6 hens and I think it is a perfect amount of chores and I don’t mind doing them
That’s really great, Rylee. I love your good attitude! Sounds like you’re going to be well prepared for life when you grow up. Keep up the good work! π
That is nice for kids like me anyways I like to hear more anyway have a nice year 2016 yeah
Thanks, Chloe. Hope you have a great year, too!
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Hey, Michelle Caskey, I am doing very little like sweeping and doing the dishes and things like that so I think I should do more. I just turned 11 yrs old so I want to do more but I can’t because of restrictions in my home so please respond to me and tell me because I would love to do more for my sister and mother.
That’s so sweet of you, Madisen. I’m not sure what the restrictions are in your home, but if you had a talk with your mom and told her exactly what you said here – that you love her and would love to help out more around the house – it seems to me that she’d probably be thrilled to have you do more. I know that most moms would absolutely love to have their kids come up and say those words to them. π
Make sure you choose a good time – when she’s relaxed and in a good mood. And make sure you share your heart with a good, kind tone. I hope it goes well!
I feel this is more for a 14-16 year old i think a 12 year old should do half of this normally (the ones that involve taking care of yourself) and i also think they should do household a couple times a month and add increase it to about this as years add on so once they are 14-16 they are capable of doing all of this. great blog though!
Oh yes, I don’t think 9-12 year olds should do ALL of these things. This is just a list of chores parents can choose from for their child. We also need to remember that kids are all unique so some of them will be capable of handling more responsibility than others. Thanks for your feedback!
Last year I moved in with a single father and his then 11 year old daughter. I’ve been trying to teach her chores, and that her dad isn’t her personal maid, servant. So she has never been taught to clean up or do anything. What pointers can u and the community help me with in teaching her responsibilities that she has never had before.
I’ve actually written another post which should help you called “6 Smart Strategies to Take Charge of Household Chores.” Remember to give her lots of grace and encouragement. This will be a whole new world for her and she will appreciate it someday but the transition could be rocky if you aren’t careful. Take care and be patient with her! π
I stumbled across your page to find age appropriate chores, and I found way more awesome things. Your website is very helpful and informational. I love that you have a lot of blogs about boys, because I am raising two boys on my own and some of your tips really came in handy. Thank you for what you do.
You are so welcome! I’m glad you found me. π
I think it is fantastic that you included βprojectsβ in things that kids should put away.
My boys are so creative, which I absolutely love, but projects that linger out with no home for days at a time….not so much. π
This is a great blog. I am a pre-teen looking for chores to do around the house to prove my responsibility to my mom since Christmas is around the corner. She told me if I am a bit more responsible she might get me a phone. So far I’ve done a few simple chores stated on this list and she’s really happy with it. Thank you for writing this article.
That’s so good to hear! Keep up the good work and I’m sure your mom will be happy to get you that phone. WIN-WIN!