7 Ways to Include Children in Household Chores
Wondering about household chores for children? This post will answer your questions about how to get your kids involved and motivated to do their chores.
Don’t forget to grab your free printable chore charts below!

Keeping the house clean and organized is a never-ending battle, at least at our house. When you homeschool and work-at-home, home becomes classroom, office, art studio, library, and science lab. We always seem to be in the middle of several projects at once. That’s why it’s important to include life skills like household chores as part of our homeschool days.
Are you struggling trying to get your children involved in household chores? Or perhaps your children WANT to help with chores, and you aren’t sure which tasks are appropriate. (Check out this post for kids chores by age.)
If you are looking for ways to make the chore process something everyone can take responsibility in, take a look below at 7 ways to include children in household chores. Getting the whole family involved doesn’t have to be a struggle, and it can in fact be quite rewarding for all.
Get these simple chore charts to download and print delivered straight to your inbox!
Household Chores for Kids
1. Create a visual chore chart.
A chore chart can help children see what is expected of them, and they can even track their progress on such a chart. List their jobs (or include photos for younger children) and let them check off jobs as they are done. Stickers or a small treat at the end of the week makes a great reward as well.
There are lots of chore chart options, including one like this dry erase board:
You can also download these free chore charts I made for a simple start. Just print them out and customize as you need to for each child. They come in three color schemes: primary, pink, and purple.
2. Create a basket of kid friendly supplies.
Create a small bucket or basket of kid friendly and safe cleaning supplies for kids to use. Give them scrubber brushes, sponges, dusting wipes, and other items they are capable of using. They will like having their own little bucket of supplies like mom and dad. You can even put their name on it!
3. Model your expectations.
Simply saying, “sweep the kitchen” isn’t enough instruction for a child. Be sure to model what you expect out of them. Show them how you get the broom from the closet, how you start at one end of the kitchen and go to the other, and how you discard the crumbs you sweep up. Then, show how you return the broom to the closet. By having a visual demonstration, they can better accomplish the job and understand it.

4. Start by assigning children jobs in their own space.
A great place to start giving chores is in their own bedroom. This way they can take ownership of the space and enjoy their hard work when done. Simple jobs such as making the bed, picking up laundry, and picking toys up off the floor are perfect for chore newbies. A cleaning flip chart like Zone Cleaning for Kids might help you with this.
5. Motivate with music.
Music is a great way to motivate children to do chores. Who doesn’t like dancing while they dust? Put on some fun tunes to make the job go quickly. If you have to clean, you might as well have fun while you are doing it.
Veggie Tales Sing-Along and Silly Songs are some of our favorites. Try these for fun:
6. Explain why we have chores.
Things don’t always make sense to kids, so understanding why we need to have chores and keep a tidy house may be confusing. Explain to kids why chores are so important, and why taking care of our space is so essential. You can even talk about what would happen if no one cleaned up after themselves. If they see a need and reason behind chores, they will be more apt to do them and care for the space they live in.

7. Behold the power of praise.
When you see your child perform chores without being asked, praise them. Praise them for a job well done and for caring about their space and their belongings. Praise is a powerful motivator and a great way to encourage them to keep up the good work.
If you are ready to get your children more active with household chores and tasks, consider this list of suggestions. You might find they are perfect for helping kids not only get involved in the process, but understand it a little better as well.
How do you include your kids in household chores?
Don’t forget your free printable chore charts!
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Hi there!
Loving this post and these awesome ideas!! Thank you!!
Also, wondering if the HS Post will be hosting the blog awards again? If so, I missed the announcement. I have found wonderful blogs at the awards in the past and even had the privilege of receiving awards. It’s a great community–the HS Post!!
Thanks
Thanks for stopping by, Chris. We’re currently discussing the future of the Homeschool Blog Awards. No definite decisions have been made yet, but we’ll make an announcement when we do. So glad to have you as part of our online community here at The Homeschool Post! We appreciate your support!
In our home, we have weekly chores that the kids are expected to do for a full week. Then they rotate to the next chore. We have 4 chores for 4 kids of that chore age. (Feed the barn, set and clear the table, feed the dogs, and sweep under the table.)
I also made chore charts of things they are expected to do around the house comprised of daily tasks (make the bed) and weekly tasks (sweep the front porch). We have 4 different charts, but a child is responsible for their chart for an entire month. This gives them the chance to practice the same chore several times and learn how to do it right before moving on to a different list of chores. It keeps it from getting too boring without being overwhelming.
Sounds like a good system! I like the idea of rotating things like that. Thanks for sharing.
Great ideas! Will definitely share this!
Thanks, glad it was helpful!