Chores for Kids: Exactly What Should They Be Doing for Pocket Money?
It’s a simple equation: chores for kids = pocket money. Do the dishes, get paid. Make your bed, get paid. And so on. It’s when we as parents need to identify the specific chores we want our kids to do, is when things get murky.
So, we’re clearing things up with a great list of chores for kids from age two to ten.
Chores for Kids from Ages Two to Ten Years
I grew up being expected to clean my room, do the dishes and fold the washing, practically from birth! Well, not quite, but it seems that chores for kids today are made easier and given later in life than they used to be.
What’s with that?
Anyway. I thought it was time someone made a list of chores for kids which could be referred to by parents when allocating pocket money. Here goes:
- Two and three years old – at this age, kids love helping out around the house. Their skills in doing so are somewhat lacking though. Nevertheless, practice makes perfect. Chores for this age group can include picking up and putting away toys, helping clean up spills, taking their dirty clothes to the laundry and dusting.
- Four and five years old – pre-schoolers do know an awful lot (they think), so the chances are high that they’ll say they can do every chore. We suggest they stick with helping prepare food for dinner, picking up and putting away their toys, making their bed with help, matching clean socks, helping bring the groceries in from the car and getting dressed by themselves.
- Six and seven years old – they’ve been at school for a while, and it’s certain to say you’ve seen a bit of an attitude towards cleaning up by now. Bad luck for them though, because it’s now time to clean their room, make their bed, put clean dishes away, pack their school bag, get dressed and vacuum the lounge.
- Eight to ten years old – you’ve been waiting for this one, we just know it. It’s time to sit back and let your child run the entire house. They now know and can do everything, apparently. We’re not so sure, so we’d be having our eight to ten-year-olds raking leaves, washing dishes and the car (separate water of course though), cleaning the bathroom, doing their own homework without being asked, taking the rubbish out and preparing easy meals by themselves. Hmm – we’ll wait and see on this one!
I’m going to add one more thing to our chores for kids list, and it is suitable for all ages. Make sure they understand the value of the pocket money they are receiving for their chores. So often kids never see us spend physical money, with cards being used to purchase online and in shops. Giving our kids the opportunity to handle NZ currency is important and understand that it is valuable. That’s where talking about and using play money at home can help. Our New Zealand Play Money Pack is ideal for using during conversations like these, and it’s perfect for playing shops too!