or press Ctrl+P (Cmd+P on a Mac). It fits one landscape page.
Chore chart
Name
Week of
| Every day | Points | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Put toys back in my bins | 1 | |||||||
| Put dirty clothes in the hamper | 1 | |||||||
| Put shoes on the shoe mat by the door | 1 | |||||||
| Carry my plastic plate and cup to the counter | 1 | |||||||
| Pull up the covers and put the pillow on the bed | 1 | |||||||
| Feed the pet using a pre-set scoop | 1 | |||||||
| Once a week | ||||||||
| Match socks from the clean laundry | 1 | |||||||
| Put groceries away in the low cupboards | 1 | |||||||
| Water the plants with a small watering can | 1 | |||||||
| Wipe the coffee table and low shelves with a damp cloth | 1 | |||||||
| Try this week | ||||||||
| Help set the table with napkins and spoons | 2 | |||||||
| Points this week | ||||||||
Free chore charts by age at familypointstracker.com/chores
What is on this chart
Every chore here comes from the lists for 3 and 4 year olds, so the youngest child in the band can do all of it. A 5 year old is ready for more: setting the table and unloading the silverware are on the 5 year old page. At this age, a tick on the chart and you saying what they did is reward enough for most jobs.
Points follow the same scale as our chores by age chart: about one point for every 10 minutes of work, a little more for a job they are still learning.
How to use this chore chart
- Fill it in together. Go through the chart with your child before it goes on the fridge. Cross out what does not fit your house and add their ideas in the blank rows. Kids stick with a plan they had a say in.
- Start with fewer rows than you think. If six daily jobs is a lot for your child, cover some up for the first week. Behavior programs that work add one step at a time, once the last one happens without reminders.
- Check it at the same time every day. Right after dinner or before bed. A routine at a fixed time takes over the reminding, and responding the same way every day matters more than the chart itself.
- Tick it with praise, not instead of it. When a box gets ticked, say what they did: "you wiped the whole table". Specific praise is what makes a chart work, and points or rewards work best on top of it.
- Let it fade. Once a routine happens on its own for a few weeks, take it off the chart and put something new on. The goal is a kid who does the job, not a kid who does the chart.
Full chore lists for ages 3 to 5
- Chores for 3 year olds Toys in bins, shoes by the door, and helping you feed the pet.
- Chores for 4 year olds Pulling up the covers, clearing their place, feeding the pet with a set scoop.
- Chores for 5 year olds Setting the table, unloading the silverware, folding towels.
Sources
The chores and ages here were checked against the American Academy of Pediatrics' guidance. Where this page makes a claim about safety or research, it comes from:
- Age-Appropriate Chores for Children. American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org.
- Parent management training (research chapter). Alan E. Kazdin, Yale University.
- Parent Praise to 1- to 3-Year-Olds Predicts Children's Motivational Frameworks 5 Years Later. Gunderson et al., Child Development, 2013.
- Tips for Relying on Routines and Rules. CDC, Essentials for Parenting Toddlers and Preschoolers.
