Chores and responsibilities you didn't know you could hand off to your kids

Are your kids starting to get bored with making their beds and taking out the trash? The good news is that there is so much more they can do! All kidding aside, there are plenty of household responsibilities that your kids can help with, beyond cleaning their room and taking the trash out. 

"So many parents think of household chores as things that need to be done by the adults, especially when kids are little,” says  Dr. Lisa Pion-Berlin, a licensed hypnotherapist and CEO of Parents Anonymous®, a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing child abuse and providing support to parents and families. “However, assigning children age-appropriate tasks not only helps lighten the load for parents, but also teaches valuable life skills, such as independence, responsibility and self-confidence.”

So, are you ready to see what household chores you can assign to your kids that will not only teach them life skills but also help them become more independent? Let’s explore some ideas!

Weekday morning chores

Every parent knows what the morning chaos feels like when you’re trying to get the kids up and dressed, feed them breakfast, make sure they have everything needed for school, and get them out the door. How can kids take on a few age-appropriate children’s responsibilities to make the morning run smoother? Let’s take a look at some tasks kids can handle:

• Pick out their clothes for the day 

• Brush their teeth

• Clean up after breakfast

• Fill up their water bottles

• Get dressed on their own

• Put away laundry

• Pack their own lunch and backpacks

• Help younger siblings with their morning routine

Bonus tip: Create a morning checklist for kids to follow so they know what their responsibilities are.

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Meal prep and grocery help

If you have finicky eaters, one great way to get them excited about meals is letting them help plan them. Here are some other ways your kids can help out with meal prep and grocery shopping:

• Help come up with dinner ideas

• Wash fruits and vegetables

• Stir ingredients for dinner

• Set and clean up the table

• Measure ingredients and do recipe prep

• Make simple meals (sandwiches, salads, and smoothies)

• Add to a family grocery list

• Help a parent cook dinner

• Put away groceries after shopping

Bonus tip: Let your kids help budget for groceries with a set allowance for specific items.

Managing household schedules

A common source of stress for many parents is keeping track of where everyone needs to be during the day, especially if multiple kids in the family are doing different activities. Kids can help with these tasks:

• Keep track of their own school assignments, events, and activities

• Add family appointments to a shared calendar

• Set reminders for family members (great for tech-savvy kids who love using phone alerts!)

• Line up rides from friends’ parents when needed

• Coordinate with siblings on household duties

• Remind parents about important school forms and deadlines

Bonus tip: Have a child who loves planning ahead? Empower them to “project manage” a family outing or event.

Simple home maintenance

Before you plan a weekend to complete your list of home maintenance projects or consider hiring someone to help, think about where your kids can lend a hand. Many children’s responsibilities can include simple maintenance tasks that help them develop useful skills:

• Check and replace batteries in remotes and smoke detectors (with supervision)

• Clean out the vacuum filter 

• Water plants and repot small ones

• Assemble small furniture

• Tighten loose screws

• Check house air filters

• Dust vents and ceiling fans

• Wipe down baseboards and door handles

Bonus tip: Turn home maintenance into a scavenger hunt! See who can find the most things that need fixing or cleaning.

Pet care (beyond feeding)

Feeding household pets is a great chore for kids of all ages, but what else can they do to care for their furry friends? Here are some more pet care chore ideas:

• Brush and detangle fur

• Clean out litter boxes, hamster cages, or fish tanks

• Teach a pet a new trick to reinforce training

• Wash and refill water bowls daily

• Organize pet supplies and restock food or treats

• Take dogs for a supervised walk (depending on age)

Bonus tip: If your child is ready, give them full responsibility for pet-related reminders like feeding schedules or vet appointments.

Digital and tech chores

Most kids today, across every generation, are so tech savvy! And it may even take them less time than it does us, as parents, to tackle some of these digital chores:

• Organize and label digital family photos

• Teach grandparents how to use FaceTime or other apps

• Manage their own online shopping budget for clothes, books, or games

• Set up streaming playlists or manage family music recommendations

• Troubleshoot Wi-Fi and tech issues (a lifesaver for parents!)

• Update apps and software on family devices

Bonus tip: Let your child be the family’s “Tech Help Desk” for simple troubleshooting and app setup.

Car and yard responsibilities

Teaching kids to care for the family car and yard helps keep things in order and introduces important life skills. Many of these children’s responsibilities can be tailored to their age and ability level, giving them confidence while keeping things running smoothly at home:

• Wipe down dashboards and vacuum car interiors

• Wash the car (with a parent’s help, if necessary)

• Refill windshield washer fluid (tweens/teens)

• Rake leaves, pull weeds, or plant flowers

• Learn how to check tire pressure or oil levels (great intro to car maintenance for teens!)

• Take out and bring in trash/recycling bins

Bonus tip: Make car maintenance a learning experience by showing older kids how to change a tire or jump-start a car.

Errand running (with supervision or gradual independence)

This list is perfect for teens because they can take on more responsibility outside the house as they get older. Here are some small errands they can run:

• Grab something from the neighbor’s house

• Return library books

• Pick up a short list of grocery items at a nearby store 

• Drop off mail or packages at the post office

• Walk a younger sibling to a friend’s house

• Pay for a purchase using a debit card, like Greenlight’s debit card for kids and teens, for practice

Bonus tip: Help your kids learn how to group errands together to save time and gas.

These simple, everyday chores and responsibilities can help kids develop life skills, independence, and confidence. Start slowly, says Dr. Pion-Berlin. “It is still important to let kids be kids so you should always be mindful of how many chores you assign, but overall, chores are an extremely important tool in raising children,” she says. And don’t forget to celebrate everything they do to contribute to the household!

Turn chores into $ lessons.  Assign tasks, set rewards, and teach responsibility with Greenlight’s money app for kids and teens. Try Greenlight, one month, risk-free.†

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