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The Inspired Treehouse

Growing healthy bodies and minds through play!

Easy Chores for Kids

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Are you looking for chores for kids that will be developmentally appropriate, while also earning your kiddo a couple of dollars?

The Inspired Treehouse - These simple chores for kids are the perfect way to get everyone involved while also promoting developmental skills.
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We have hit that phase in our house. My 12-year-old loves to go “downtown” with friends after school. The only stipulation is she must use her own money for whatever she wants to buy! At 12, it is no easy feat to earn the extra few bucks for her Starbucks Refresher.

She keeps saying she wants some chores but… I am that type-A, perfectionist parent that loves a clean house. There is nothing better than a sparkly clean bathroom with a lit candle, and I love laundry that is folded just so and put into neat piles to be delivered to each owner’s dresser drawers. Catch my drift?

While I love the idea of getting a little help around my house (and completely agree with the idea of my kids earning a small amount of money for contributing to some of the tasks)… sometimes my 12-, 9-, and 6-year-olds just don’t quite complete these tasks to my standards.

The Inspired Treehouse - These simple chores for kids are the perfect way to get everyone involved while also promoting developmental skills.

I know what you’re thinking: “How will they learn if you don’t let them try and fail?” Believe me, I’m trying. I know how important it is for kids to be given opportunities for independence!  So, now that my oldest is constantly asking for money, I have decided that it might be A-OK to hand over some of my undesirable chores to her – because, as mom, I can! :)

All joking aside, there are many benefits to children taking on responsibility around the house. Skills like time management, organization, fine and gross motor skills, teamwork, self-worth, and self-discipline! There are chores that can help promote nearly every developmental skill under the sun

Here are a few of our favorite chores for promoting development in kids

-Taking out the garbage is a great strengthener and heavy work task.

-Washing the floor is a fun tactile, proprioceptive (squeezing out that sponge!), and gross motor activity.

-Making beds is a good proprioceptive heavy work task.

-Washing the car is great for strengthening the arms and hands as well as midline crossing.

-Raking leaves or shoveling snow promotes bilateral coordination and midline crossing.

-Setting the table is an awesome task that involves visual motor skills and sequencing.

-Watering plants is great for targeting hand strengthening and fine motor skills.

I made a printable schedule for her and listed out the chore options that were available to her. For every paid task she completed, she also had to complete one that was “unpaid” to emphasize the importance of her contribution to our family.

Believe it or not, one of her favorite paid tasks is cleaning out the litter box, which is a chore that I despise!! Cat litter is yucky! And she thought so too, until just last week, when we were at my parents’ house and she realized that they use Feline Pine™ Original Non-Clumping Cat Litter.

She decided at that moment that Nana and Papa were pretty smart! This cat litter smells fresh and clean – like pine!! It works by bonding directly to ammonia odors and locking them away. If you have ever smelled a cat box, you know that smell I am talking about! I was amazed and so was she. I think she was super excited because this chore happens to be one of the top paying on her list because it is the one I HATE the most!

The Inspired Treehouse - These simple chores for kids are the perfect way to get everyone involved while also promoting developmental skills.

The very next day, we went to the store to purchase this fabulous cat litter. We quickly learned that Feline Pine™ Original Non-Clumping Cat Litter is a 100% natural pine litter with no added fragrance and that it is 100% chemical free!

That is huge for our family as we typically use chemical free products when cleaning in our household. It made me feel so much better about my child taking on this chore! Our kitty, Alley, will love this litter too. It is made from kiln-dried shavings from reclaimed lumber production (so no new trees are cut to make it) and the shavings are soft on the cat’s feet!

If you haven’t tried it, here is a coupon that you can use to get a bag! Everyone is happy with this new chore arrangement! The cat’s potty is clean and smelling fresh with Feline Pine™ Original Non-Clumping Cat Litter, and my girl has a handful of cash for her after-school Starbucks run while I have one less thing on my to-do list!!

How do you handle chores for kids at your house? Do your kids choose their own chores? Do you assign them? Do they get paid for their work?

 

Interested in how chores and other jobs around the house can promote development and independence?  Check out these posts:

20 Life Skills Activities for at Home

Chores for Kids: Promoting Developmental Skills

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Lauren Drobnjak

Lauren Drobnjak is co-author of The Inspired Treehouse blog and a pediatric physical therapist who currently practices in the educational environment. She has been a physical therapist for 18 years, with 17 of those years specifically in pediatrics. Her drive to make a difference in the lives of kids has led her entrepreneurial spirit in the direction of creating opportunities for play-based wellness and child development. She is a busy mama of 3 who thrives on chaos. To come down from the stress, Lauren enjoys exercising like she’s still 20, yoga, chocolate, a great book, browsing Pinterest, and anything crafty!

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Comments

  1. Natalie says

    When I care for my nanny, I require her to make her bed ,clean up her toys and help dust. She is too small to vacuum or take the trash out yet :) I reward her with stickers when she does these things.

  7. Julie Wood says

    My kids have chores and I pay them for doing them and they help with the cat and dog. They help clean the cat box and put in new cat litter. My kids are such a help to me!

  11. Jessie C. says

    We assign chores to kids and keep records in a chart. They get allowance monthly.
    tcarolinep at gmail dot com

  13. Kelly D says

    I am not too big on handing out chores because I tend to think it is easier to do things on my own. However recently my 8 year old has discovered that she loves to vacuum. I am sure the phase won’t last long.

  15. Jessica To says

    I make a list of chores for my son. he does better when he can see in writing what he needs to do. I don’t pay him for helping around the house.

  18. Madeline says

    Our child helps with dinner most nights and empties the litter twice a week. We didn’t give her much choice.

  20. Rebecca W says

    We divide up the chores between the kids according to their ages. They are a big help to me, and they take car of the animals as well as cleaning up after themselves.

  26. Susan Smith says

    My kids have their own chores they do every day like cleaning their room, making their bed and picking up after themselves and they have other chores they take turns doing like emptying the dishwasher and setting and cleaning up after dinner.

  28. kjasus says

    we just have one child and he’s pretty good at doing things when I ask him to. we pay him when he does extra things like shovel/mow/rake

  30. Chrissy says

    My daughter is just starting to get to the age where she can help with chores and I’m trying to come up with age appropriate chores that will teach her good life skills but not overwhelm her!

  32. Jennai says

    They do have certain chores they are supposed to do, and then generally get to pick one when there is extra stuff to be done. They get their allowance only if the do these things (along with homework, etc.)

  33. Lisa Brown says

    I may assign chores or I may have them pick what they want to do, depends; I do give them a small allowance.

  35. LAMusing says

    I don’t have kids. When I was a child I had my regular chores to do and got a small weekly allowance, I wan’t paid for extra chores, but my parents always made extra chores fun and there was usually a treat for me when I finished :) I always understood we were a team – and we needed to all pitch in when needed.

  37. Tina W says

    No kids here, so no chores, although I do make my nieces and nephews clean up after themselves when they come for sleepovers.

  41. Stephanie Phelps says

    I have a chore list with assigned kids and no I do not pay them. They earn family bucks which they can turn in for special privileges!

  47. Kristen says

    Chores are not paid for here….all family members do chores as one of the responsibilities of being part of a family. I do try to let everyone do the chores they prefer, and the rest we all share in doing.

  49. Cheryl B says

    I make a chore list and assign my kiddos jobs. They are rewarded with an allowance or a special stay over with friends.

  53. janetfaye says

    I use a large wall dry erase board and list my son’s chores for the week. He receives a small allowance as long as his chores are done.

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