Parenting expert says it’s “tremendously important” for kids to do chores, starting at age 2

Chores are a great way to teach kids about teamwork, responsibility and independence, which is why it’s almost never too young to start, according to parenting expert Julia Dennison, the executive editor of Parents.com. “Chores are tremendously important for kids,” Dennison tells Yahoo Life. “It’s really important to start kids from a younger age just because you want to make it part of the routine and the norm in your family.” Parents can start asking kids to do chores as young as age 2, Dennison says. While chores will be minimal at such a young age — it will mostly be picking up toys and putting them away — it’s important to get them started as soon as they can understand language and commands. “Teaching kids from a young age the concept of what it means to be a family and helping each other out is a really important life skill and something that you don't want to wait for,” Dennison explains. As children get older, they can take on more responsibility. From sorting silverware to putting laundry away, kids can help out with whatever needs to get done. “Most of what you're doing in terms of chores around the house, as long as it's not like dangerous chemicals or a super sharp knife, you probably get your kids involved with,” Dennison shares. It also helps to think about kids’ skills, interests and abilities. If, for example, your child is forgetful, maybe feeding the dog or cat isn’t the best chore for them. “Kids really do differ from kid to kid,” Dennison says. “It's really important to cater to that when you're thinking about what chores you’re giving your kids.” Another tip is to give children their own responsibilities around the house. “Make one kid always in charge of taking out the trash, always in charge of sorting and recycling, so they can really take ownership of that one responsibility and then do it really well,” Dennison explains. Dennison also believes it’s important for parents to try and make chores rewarding. “Never punish your children by giving them chores,” she says. “We work in a world where we get rewarded by things … so if you wanted to give your kid an allowance for doing chores, there's nothing wrong with that.” Because chores help build independence and responsibility, they also give kids a sense of self-concept and self-esteem. “You have to remember that children spend their whole lives being told what to do,” Dennison says. “They don’t have a lot of opportunity for showing their own independence and their own responsibilities in the world. And so giving them chores is a really nice way to say to them, ‘Hey, show me what you can do.’” For more tips about finding the right chores for your kids, visit Parents.com.

Video Transcript

JULIA DENNISON: I mean, I was just on a Zoom call with a fellow editor, and she's apologizing because her six-year-old couldn't stop vacuuming. And that's, I think, because at a young age, it's still really fun, you know? It's like, they love that sense of independence.

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Chores are tremendously important for kids, and I really do think that it's almost never too young to give kids chores. They do so much for kids. They build teamwork and independence and responsibility. It's really important to start kids from a younger age, just because you just want to make it part of the routine and the norm in your family.

Toddlers, obviously, it's pretty minimal-- it's going to be cleaning up. But you can start kids on chores as young as two. From age five and up, you can think about fun chores like weeding the garden and watering the garden, sorting silverware, as long as it's not sharp knives quite yet-- maybe they can't fold everything perfectly when you're putting the laundry away. But hey, maybe they can-- you could turn matching socks into a matching game, and that's educational and fun too.

I think just in general, even though ages seven and under, you know, might seem pretty young to be giving them chores, I think it's important to think about all the things that you're doing around the house for your family and think about what of those things you can hand over. As they get older, thinking about ages seven to nine, they can put groceries away, they can put the dishes away.

Also, family pets is a great area. If you have a cat or a dog, from age seven, maybe they can't go out and walk the dog, but they could certainly be put in charge of feeding the dog as long as it wasn't raw food. I think from ages 10, they can have more responsibility around cleaning and cooking and maintenance. From 10 onwards, most of what you're doing in terms of chores around the house, as long as it's not, like, dangerous chemicals or a super sharp knife, you can probably get your kids involved with. And then certainly when they're teens, [INAUDIBLE] getting your teenager to do their own laundry, and then also your teenager can go out. They can go out for groceries if you're going out for groceries these days.

They can certainly put together a grocery list, and they can, you know, just work on larger projects around the house. When you're trying to think about what age a kid can start doing chores, it's more important to think about ability. So kids really do differ from kid to kid depending on their ability, their skills, their interests. Another important tip is to give kids their own responsibilities around the house. Make one kid always in charge of taking out the trash, always in charge of sorting out the recycling so they can really take ownership of that one responsibility and then do it really well.

Really, just try to make it rewarding-- never punish your children by giving them chores. You have to remember that children spend their whole lives being told what to do, and they don't have a lot of opportunity for showing their own independence and their own responsibilities in the world. And so giving them chores is a really nice way to say to them, hey, show me what you can do. If they're doing a chore at all, that should be celebrated.