No matter how independent your kiddo is, teaching them to accept responsibility for their chores can feel like stepping onto a battleground. News flash: Creating a list of chores doesn’t have to be a struggle. Regardless of how their brain works, household tasks can empower and help your kid gain confidence and independence. This post lays out a practical list of chores that are more than “taking out the trash.” From food prep to self-care, these are tasks your kid can start today. No fluff—just actionable stuff.
Table of Contents
1. Sorting the Laundry
Why It’s Great: First off, sorting laundry is like a live-action puzzle, but with socks. It helps develop color recognition and categorization skills.
- How to Make It Fun: Make it a game. “Find all the blue socks!” or “Which pile does this shirt go into?”
- Tools: Hampers with labels or colors for different types of laundry.
2. Making Their Bed
Why It’s Great: Above all, bed-making teaches the value of starting the day with a win and maintaining personal space.
- How to Make It Fun: Turn it into a race against the clock or use a Goally app to track their progress.
- Tools: Easy-to-use bedding like duvets or comforters that aren’t complicated.
Read more: Chore Chart for Teens
3. Prepping Snacks
Why It’s Great: Kids love food, right? Here’s their chance to get creative while learning about nutrition.
- How to Make It Fun: Let them choose the ingredients. Celery or apple slices? Nut butter or hummus? The sky’s the limit.
- Tools: Safe, child-friendly kitchen tools. Think plastic knives and non-slip cutting boards.
4. Feeding a Pet
Why It’s Great: Certainly, caring for another living thing fosters empathy and responsibility.
- How to Make It Fun: Establish a pet-feeding schedule and let your child be the ‘Pet Food Chief.’
- Tools: Measuring cups, easy-open pet food containers.
Customize visual schedules that teach kids independence. No more nagging, no more stress.
5. Wiping Down Tables
Why It’s Great: Let’s be real: life is messy. Teaching your child to clean up after themselves is a lesson that pays dividends.
- How to Make It Fun: Use an eco-friendly, safe cleaner and let them spray the table. Kids love squirting bottles—trust us.
- Tools: Non-toxic cleaning spray and a cloth.
6. Organizing Bookshelves
Why It’s Great: For instance, it’s a less obvious chore, but it helps with literacy and respect for belongings.
- How to Make It Fun: Allow them to arrange books by color, size, or even mood. Yes, moods!
- Tools: Just the books and the shelf.
Read more: Top 3 Daily Chores for Kids
7. Watering Plants
Why It’s Great: Most importantly, it teaches life cycles and the joy of nurturing something from scratch.
- How to Make It Fun: Give them their own watering can and let them be the “Plant Guardian.”
- Tools: Small watering can, perhaps one with fun designs.
Goally | Routines that Actually Work
Goally’s skill building tablet for kids has routines that break down large tasks into small, achievable steps. It helps kids complete their tasks independently!
Create custom routines with your own videos & pictures for every step. The steps come in small, bite-sized pieces to help your child learn the little fundamentals (like putting the toothpaste on their toothbrush!) to achieve bigger goals. And that’s just the beginning. See it in action:
So you’ve got the lowdown on our list of chores. Your kid doesn’t need to be a mini-adult to participate in household responsibilities. Chores can be adapted, modified, and made fun, especially for kids with thinking and learning differences. It’s not about the chore; it’s about the skills and confidence they gain while doing it. Similarly, as you get creative with these chores, you’ll find your kiddo not just doing them but owning their own routines. Now, how empowering is that?
Goally
We help parents teach their kids life skills, like doing bedtime and morning independently. Backed by science, we incorporate evidence-based practices and expert-informed designs in all of our apps and content.
