By the time they turn 10, some children may have already begun doing household chores. However, if you wonder whether the time is right to start asking your children to take responsibility for some housework tasks, there's no right or wrong answer. Asking your kids and teens to do chores is entirely up to you and what works best for your family.
Related: Age appriopriate chores
Household chores appropriate for children aged 10, 11 and 12 years old:
- Basic shopping
- Bring in the shopping
- Clean up after dinner
- Putting away laundry
- Helping younger siblings
- Supervising young siblings (with an adult in the house).
- Make lunch
- Taking out the rubbish
- Mowing the lawn
- Drying crockery and putting away
- Walk the dog
- Take care of the family pets
- Raking leaves
- Cleaning their bedroom
- Washing windows
- Sweeping
There are numerous benefits of giving kids chores. Sue Atkins, Family Parenting Expert and author of Parenting Made Easy, agrees, “Setting chores gives children responsibility, which teaches them to become responsible. As parents, our job is to guide our children towards responsibility. To give them the ability to look after themselves so they are not helpless when they go out into the world.”
As well as responsibility, chores help them learn valuable life skills that they will need when they are older and have their own home to look after. If you do decide to give your kids chores to do, it's important that you give them age-appropriate chores.
Giving your children pocket money for chores can also help kickstart their financial education before they can get a part-time job. While financially rewarding kids for chores is again down to individual parental choice, it can help kids recognise the link between work and earning money while developing crucial money management skills. Find out how much you should pay your child for doing chores here.
16 chores your 10 to 12-year-old can do
Let's dive in a little more:
- Basic shopping: A good chore for 12-year-olds is to ask them to run basic shopping errands if you run out of essentials like milk, bread and fruit.
- Bring in the shopping: Ask your kids to carry in the shopping bags and help unpack and put away some groceries.
- Clean up after dinner: A fairly easy chore for most 10-year-olds is to help with cleaning up after dinner, including clearing away all the dinner things, wiping the table, washing up (remove any sharp knives first) or loading the dishwasher.
- Putting away laundry: Most children over the age of 10 can manage to put their own clothes away.
- Helping younger siblings: If your 10 to 12-year-old has a younger sibling, they can help them with their homework, getting dressed or doing chores.
- Supervising young siblings (with an adult in the house): While you are busy doing other things elsewhere in the house, your 10 to 12-year-old could keep a watchful eye over their younger siblings.
- Make lunch: Some kids aged 10 to 12 might be able to make a simple lunch for the family with some adult help.
- Taking out the rubbish: Ask your children to empty the waste paper baskets and, if they can, take the rubbish out to the main bin.
- Mowing the lawn: Chores for 12-year-olds and over could include mowing the lawn if you think they are responsible enough. Just make sure you teach them what to do and how to do it safely.
- Drying crockery and putting away: After the washing up is done, ask your 10 to 12 year old to help with drying the cups and plates and put them away. Make sure you remove any sharp knives first.
- Walk the dog: If you’re looking for chores for 12-year-olds, walking the dog is a great way to help the household get your kids outside into the fresh air.
- Take care of the family pets: Ask your children to fill the dog or cat bowl with food and top up the water bowl if you think they can.
- Raking leaves: Raking leaves is a really good chore for 10 to 12-year-olds and can help you get the garden tidy.
- Cleaning their bedroom: Encourage your kids to keep their room tidy and put away their clothes and toys. It will help to give them a sense of responsibility for their belongings.
- Washing windows: You don't need to pay a professional window cleaner when you have a 10 to 12-year-old to lend a helpful hand.
- Sweeping, vacuuming and mopping floors: Ask your child to help you keep the floors clean, and lend a hand with sweeping, vacuuming and mopping.
Related: The best apps to encourage kids to do chores
How to reward your child for doing chores
Chores are a way that kids can learn valuable life skills, take responsibility, and make a positive contribution to the running of the household. Rewards can be a nice way to acknowledge a job well done and help them stay motivated to do chores. Ways you can reward your kids for chores include praise, special activities, a day out, later bedtime or perhaps a trip to the cinema. You can also reward them with pocket money.
Related: How much should I pay my child for doing chores?
How to give your kids pocket money?
GoHenry is a prepaid debit card for kids with a companion app that makes it easy for parents to give their children pocket money for doing chores. With GoHenry, parents can quickly and easily set up tasks and pay their child's pocket money when they are marked complete. This helps children learn responsibility and the value of work.
Related articles:
Chores for 5 year olds
Chores for 6 and 7 year olds
Chores for 8 and 9 year olds
Chores for teens
