Age Appropriate Chores for Kids

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I clearly remember my mom telling me when I was a kid, “Mija, I need you to help me today with making dinner or washing the dishes.” She taught me how to do it, just like her mom taught her how to do it and sometimes even using the same cleaners or ingredients you could find in my abuelita’s household essentials pantry. For my mother, our chores were a family affair just as it was for her growing up. Chores were not just a thing that had to be done but what we did as a Hernandez. We are a team.

Which brings me to chores. I’ll tell you upfront I’ve struggled with the whole concept of paying my kids for chores but I also want them to learn responsibility and money management. When I was a kid, chores were a part of being a contributing family member. In my familia we all contributed to keeping our household running from a young age.

So, I was a bit nervous when we started our chores for the boys because I wasn’t ready to say we are or we aren’t paying you for chores. Thankfully, the moment I introduced it they were ready and on board. Don’t get me wrong, they don’t wake up thanking me for the chores they have to do each day and sometimes they do grumble but for the most part all I have to say is, “It’s time to get ready for the day.” and they are on task with their morning chores.

The chart below is what the Tuten team does on a weekly basis (me included we clean together). Though I do most of the cooking sometimes they do help me with the preparation of it.

The bathroom tip – I have for you is to divvy up the bathroom chores between kids or if you only have one child between days. This doesn’t make it so overwhelming. Believe it or not for some ridiculous reason our house was built with 4 bathrooms (it’s not a big house). So, they rotate between sinks and toilets twice a week.

The clean bathroom tip – Since my kids clean the floors during the day, by the time my husband comes home or company comes over the floors are full of grass and dust (it’s amazing how kids are dust and dirt collectors) and my house doesn’t even smell clean. So my tip is to take the mop they used earlier that day and pour a little bit of Fabuloso cleaner (lavender scent is my favorite) at the entrance and voila it smells wonderful and looks clean.

Feel free to download our Age Appropriate Chores for 7-10 year olds by right clicking and then copying and pasting it to your word document. I have a 7 & 10 year old, both boys and they do the following chores weekly but not all in a week as I don’t always need all of those things done.

Chores, daily routine, family contributions… no matter what you want to call them make sure you incorporate them into your family values as this will help your child realize that they are needed, that they are a vital member in your team–your familia. Being needed gives kids a sense of accomplishment! Around the age of 4-8 most kids have a strong drive to contribute to their little world. They get a boost of self-esteem and sense of accomplishment which will carry over into other areas of their lives.

Show them, teach them and then let them enjoy contributing to the family system. Just as my mom taught me at an early age: responsibility and service through cleaning my hope is to pass on some of the same values and products down to my kids. How fun that I get to remember my mom and my childhood when I use Fabuloso cleaner with my kids.