Age appropriate chores

teen daughter giving 4 year old a mohawk.

Many Children coming into foster care do not know how to thrive in a healthy family environment. One thing we strive is teach them how to act like a family member.


Things My Two year old Helps out with:

Putting toys and other items away.
Sweeping up food with a small pan and brush.

How my Three year olds pitch in:

Take piles of clothes to their drawer and put them away
Wipe down highchairs after meals
Move small table into hall so that moping and sweeping can begin
put their own dishes in the sink as well as those of the younger children.

My four year old has even more responsibility

puts clean shirts on hangers
refills the upstairs diaper and wipes station
puts the trash in the garage
puts trash bins and recycling out by the street (supervised)
uses the handheld dustbuster to vacuum stairs
sweeps kitchen floor after younger children have attempted

The six year old can do even more

match clean socks and put them together
organize books on the bookshelf
sweep porch and wipe down the porch toys
bring all the laundry bins down stairs to laundry room and sort
wash plastic/melamine dishes
wipe down around toilet after making careless "peeing" mistakes

the Teenagers in our home

help with the younger children
cook and get plates ready for younger children
wash dishes/ load dishwasher
mop kitchen floor
do their own laundry


Now even though i don't have children in the ages 7-15 arena most of the teen chores can be done by children in that age group. When a child has a certain responsibility it makes them feel as though they belong. I never leave one child to sit and watch as the whole family is functioning. When the kitchen is finally clean after a meal we can all admire our work . Everyone feels good because each member has contributed to the final result!

Always remember to praise the child for the chore they have have completed!

"You are doing such a great job sweeping"!!!