Chores for 10, 11 and 12 year olds
Between 10 and 12, kids can handle most of a household job without you: cleaning a bathroom, a load of laundry from start to finish, a simple dinner with you nearby. It's a good age to rotate the jobs nobody wants, so they're shared fairly.
Clean a bathroom
Sink, mirror, toilet and floor, with a checklist taped inside the cabinet.
Do their own laundry
Washer, dryer, folded and put away.
Cook a simple meal
Pasta, tacos, eggs, with you in the kitchen.
Change their sheets
Strip the bed on laundry day; make it again that night.
Clean up the kitchen after dinner
Counters, table, dishes, and the sink wiped.
Help with the grocery shopping
Hand them part of the list and a cart.
Mow the lawn, at 12, with you there
The American Academy of Pediatrics says 12 and up for a push mower.
Look after a younger sibling for a few minutes
While you're in the next room.
What makes it stick at this age: Take turns on the jobs nobody wants, like the bathroom and the trash, so no one is stuck with them. A rotation everyone can see ends the "I did it last time" argument.
For the rest of the house
The printed list is yours to keep. Pitch In is a free app for the grown-ups and teenagers in the house: chores with names on them, a shared calendar, the grocery list and the bills, in one place everyone can see. It’s for 13 and up, so when your kids get there, they get their own list.