Are you having a hard time getting your kiddos to stick to chores? Curious about what chores and responsibilities a toddler can handle? Get a few cute and motivating printable chore charts for kids to keep your littles on task and your house looking flawless. You can find a variety of free, printable chore charts for toddlers, preschoolers, older kids and tweens below, or you can customize your own chore chart. Get a few must-have tips for using chore charts with your kids as well.
Printable Toddler Chore Charts
Toddlers are very eager to please, and they want to help. Teach them a daily routine and get them in the habit of doing chores by starting simple. Chores like making your bed and brushing your teeth are easy enough that they can do them alone.
Daily Chore Chart for Toddlers (Ages 2-3)
If you are working on establishing a routine with your toddler, you might want to try a daily chore chart. The tasks are easily broken down into morning and night chores in this chart. This helps them establish a fluid daily routine. If you need help downloading the chart, check out these helpful tips.
Weekly Toddler Chore Chart (Ages 2-3)
A toddler's attention span is short, like super short. Therefore, your little one might respond better to variety in their chore chart. In this case, you might want to try a weekly chore chart to get them started on a cleaning routine. Reminders to brush your teeth and wash hands are just as helpful to toddlers as picking up toys and wiping off tables. It gives them a gentle reminder that these tasks are important.
Toddler Rewards
Stickers are a great way to reward toddlers. Remember, toddlers need instant gratification, and rewarding them right away with a sticker or other little gift will keep them interested.
Little Kid Chore Chart Printables
Preschoolers and kindergartners are excited about helping around the house, and they are old enough to take on a little more responsibility. Chores can now be completed with little supervision, and rewards should be motivating and appropriate. Little kids can complete simple chores like making the bed, pairing socks, and setting the table.
Daily Routine Little Kid Chore Chart (Ages 4-6)
Once your littles start going to preschool and kindergarten, it's essential to get them in a routine. This chore chart is great for helping them find and perfect a daily routine. It can also make a parent's life a little easier.
Weekly Chore Chart for Little Kids (Ages 4-6)
If your kiddos have a pretty established daily routine, you might be looking for more of a cleaning chart to start them out on. This chart skips the obvious, like getting dressed and brushing teeth, to focus more on cleaning chores they can do around the home. It offers clear areas for them to mark off the chores they've completed for that day.
Little Kid Chore Rewards
Sticker charts can still be used, but they should come with an even bigger reward when all the chores are accomplished. Some great reward options are money, books, or small toys. A fun idea is to have a "reward box," and in this box will be a variety of items that they can choose from after their sticker chart is completed for the week.
Elementary Age Chore Chart Printable
At the elementary age, children can accomplish tasks given with minimal supervision. Children at this stage want to be independent but may not be as willing to participate in helping out around the house, so rewards should be fulfilling. Elementary-aged children have no problem with simple chores like taking care of pets, loading and unloading the dishwasher, and helping with organization.
Free Daily and Weekly Elementary Chore Charts to Download (Ages 7-9)
While elementary-aged kids still need reminders to brush their hair and get dressed, they mostly have a handle on it. Therefore, a weekly chart that they can mark off is the most helpful in getting them to do their chores. This fun chore chart allows them to take cleaning into their own hands and keep track of how many points they earned. Each day, they can mark off their chores and have a daily and weekly total. You can assign points or a monetary value for each chore so they can get a payday at the end of the week.
Chore Rewards for Older Kids
Sticker charts may work for lower elementary age children, but for the upper elementary age, they may find stickers to be too babyish. The next best thing would be to use a point system where zero means the chore was not completed and one represents the completed chore. Reward bucks are another option at this age. After completing a task, children can earn fake money and cash it in for a reward.
Tween Chore Chart Printable
With the growing attitude of a tween comes growing responsibilities. Kids ages 10 to 12 can do most chores around the house. They might not want to, but they are very capable. Beyond the elementary chores, they can sweep and mop floors, clean the kitchen, and do laundry.
Simple Daily and Weekly Tween Chore Chart to Print (Ages 10-12)
Get your daily and weekly chores bundled into one stellar chore chart. Tweens can easily keep track of their chores and the money or points they've earned. They can simply check off their completed chores and leave a daily total and then a weekly total. If you choose a points system, you might want to assign more points for chores like cleaning the bathroom or mowing the lawn since these will take more time than taking out the trash.
Tween Rewards System
Small gifts can still work as rewards at this age, but a points or money system is your best bet. Assigning different chores dollar amounts, points, or giving them an allowance will allow them to buy the apps and other digital media they crave. And you get your house clean, so it's a win-win.
Blank Chore Charts for Kids of All Ages
The following chore charts allow you to put in the specific chores of your choosing. These blank chart downloads make it easy to customize chore lists, so they are just right for your children. Most of these fillable chore charts include a space for listing specific chores, with the days of the week across the top. Keep in mind that for toddlers or preschoolers with limited word recognition, you may want to draw a picture (or use clip art or pictures from magazines) to illustrate what chore needs to be done.
Princess Chore Charts
This chore chart features a princess and a simple way to track chores. It's ideal for preschoolers and toddlers, though elementary kids who are fond of princesses will like it too.
Dog and Cat Chore Charts
Do you have a little cat lover in your life? What about a little dog lover? Then these chore charts are the perfect ones for you to choose. Print out the design you like the most and go.
Western Chore Chart
Your little cowboy or cowgirl will like this Western-inspired chore chart. They can easily post it on their wall or door.
Baseball Chart for Chores
Boys and girls alike often love baseball, so consider this chart to help your little one remember daily chores and responsibilities. All you need to do is fill it in.
Rainbow Horse Chart
A kid who loves horses will fall for this chart with images of horses with colorful manes and tails. You might even use horse stickers to mark off the chores.
Basic Chore Chart
Sometimes you don't want to waste your ink with a fancy chore chart. Instead, you can keep it basic with this chart. Just add your child's name and chores. Since it's blank, you can allow your kid to color it and customize it in a way that helps motivate them.
DIY Chore Charts for Kids
Printing off chore charts and posting them up is a pretty easy way to divide chores for kids. But if you want to get a little more creative, you can try out a few DIY ideas for kids' chore charts.
Money Chore Chart
Create a list of chores you want to be done. Assign a monetary value to each chore. Put the money and the chore in a ziplock bag. Post it onto a board with a tack or magnet. Kids can choose what chores they want to do depending on the money they need.
Magnet Chore Charts
Glue a chore list onto a cookie sheet. Add a label for the child's name. Create a "to do" and "done" column. Put the magnets in the "to do" column, and kids can move them over as the chores are done for the day. You can then reset the chart in the evening.
Using Chore Charts With Allowance
Instead of just giving kids a free monetary allowance each week, many families decide to use tools like chore charts to allow kids to earn an allowance. This not only helps teach valuable lessons about hard work, but it can help children gain a sense of accomplishment and self-confidence, as well as teach the value of money. There are numerous ways you can tie an allowance into a chore chart. Consider these other fun ways to incorporate allowance into using charts:
- Mark the amount of the allowance on the chore chart template (either per chore, per week, or when the chart is complete, for example) so the child remembers the goal they are working toward.
- Get a fun notebook in a color that matches the chore chart and use it to help your child keep track of how much money they earn each week.
- Younger kids might enjoy a decorated jar or piggy bank that they can keep their allowance in. Put a label on the front with the amount the child can earn per chore, per week, etc.
- Have a special place where your child can turn in their chore chart each week. If they've completed their chores, you return it with a sticker and an envelope with their allowance.
- If you prefer to have your child do chores to learn and not for an allowance, consider adding a section to the chore chart with 'bonus chores' the child can do to earn money once their regular chores are complete.
- You can also decide whether to give a partial allowance for the number of chores completed each week, or if the child can make up chores on the weekend. Make notes at the bottom of the page or in the margins with your personalization for these aspects.
Tips for Using Chore Charts
Chore charts can be an effective and helpful tool in managing your household. Encourage your kids by making chore time fun. Play music, do chores alongside them, or even make a game of doing the chores. It is work, but it doesn't have to feel like it. Also, try these tried-and-true tips for making chore time easier:
- Use a picture chart for non-readers.
- To help your non-reading kids recognize common words, use a combination picture/word chart.
- Get your kids involved in making the chart by letting them color it.
- Find a theme that will appeal to your kids.
- Get the whole family involved and make mutual goals by using a printable family chore list. You can mark things that all family members must be responsible for, like making their own beds, and alternate other household chores, so kids don't get tired of doing the same ones each week.
- Give them a goal to work toward. Let them earn rewards, such as television or computer time or a special treat. Reward charts are used to either reward kids with a monetary allowance or other prizes/rewards for completing household tasks.
You can also make chore charts unique - like decorating the chart with photos of your children doing chores.
Making Chore Charts Work for Your Family
The chore charts you use must work for your unique needs. If your kids and teens need to have the same chores every day for a week, don't feel you must use a daily chart. Make the chart work for your family; don't try to force your family to change their routines and the chores they do to suit a chart.
