Day 33: Kids’ Room – Chores for Children by Age

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Let me preface today’s 40 Bags in 40 Days Combat Clutter Challenge assignment with this — If you don’t have children, you don’t get a free day.  Go back and work on any one area of your home that could use a little more TLC.

Okay, so now for today’s assignment … tackling the kids’ room.  This is the day to make the kids work.  Its their space, they need to take responsibility for it.  As parents, we often want to do stuff for our children.  Sometimes, we do too much, and today I’m telling you that your children can clean their own bedrooms.  Your children should clean their own bedrooms!

My children, ages 2, 6, 8, are all responsible for cleaning their bedrooms.  But here’s the catch – they don’t do it alone!  We need to model good habits for our children each and every day, from how to treat others to how to speak up for themselves, from what foods to at to how to take care of their things.  Its all about raising responsible and productive members of society because some day our children will go out in the world without us, and they need to be able to take care of themselves.

Chores for Children by Age

Age 2

• put toys in the toy box
• put his clothes in the hamper
• put stuffed animals in his crib

Age 3

• helps to fold blankets and flat items
• matches socks
• dust low surfaces
• pull sheets up on bed

Age 4

• put shirts on hangers
• fold pants and shorts in half
• helps put laundry away
• helps strip bed linens

Age 5

• can do more tasks without supervision
• brings dirty laundry to the laundry room
• make decisions about what toys to get rid of
• make a bed properly

Age 6 

• can load the washing machine
• can unload the dryer
• can take clothes back to bedroom

Age 7-8

• depending on height, can switch laundry from the washer to the dryer
• can set the washing machine and/or dryer
• runs the vacuum
• takes out the trash
• can change the bed linens with help from a sibling or parent
• with supervision, can change a light bulb

As my children get older still, I’m sure they will have even more responsibilities and chores that they will need to do.  Its important to instill a strong work ethic into our children and have them work to be part of the household.  We teach our children that every family member has a job, and they need to do their job (cleaning their bedrooms) the same as mommy & daddy have to do their jobs around the house.

Do your children do chores around the house?