Free Printable Chore Chart for Kids
Believe it or not, if your little one has reached the “terrible twos” he or she is probably ready for some basic chores, and a good way to plan this out is a printable chore chart. According to Roger W. McIntire, a University of Maryland psychology professor and author of Raising Good Kids in Tough Times, “Kids can do a lot of chores at an early stage. We hold back too long because we think they ought to be ready first. But that puts the cart before the horse. That is, they’ll learn by doing,” (WebMD, n.d.).
The key to getting your kids started with chores is to:
- Select chores that are age appropriate
- Make your expectations clear
- Don’t expect perfection – especially in the beginning
- Offer ample praise for completed tasks
In addition to the tips listed above, it’s important to get your kids excited about chores. This may sound like a real challenge, after all, most of us don’t like chores, but it isn’t nearly as hard as it sounds. Keep in mind, that children can be motivated by something as small as a gold star, the occasional sweet treat, or an outing to the park.
One way to make your expectations clear and to motivate your kids to do their chores is with printable chore charts. Printable chore charts, like the one below, allow kids to keep track of what chores they have to do and when as well as their progress.
To start, create a printable chore chart for each one of your children. Put his or her name on the top, list out the chores, and put check marks on the days the chore should be completed. For example, you might assign a twelve-year-old to take out the garbage so on his or her printable chore chart, you would put “take out the garbage” and then put a check mark on Thursday (or whatever your garbage day is). Once you’ve filled out the printable chore charts, hang them up where they are clearly visible (ex. on the kitchen fridge).
Don’t just use printable chore charts to tell your child what to do. Instead, use printable chore charts to motivate your child to complete his or her chores. For example, tell your child to replace a check mark with a star sticker when the chore is completed. Then offer your child some kind of incentive whether it be a toy, sweet treat, or allowance when he or she reaches so many stars or successfully completes all of the chores assigned for the week.
Use the free printable chore chart below to introduce your child to chores. Bonus: Printable chore charts can also be used by adults to keep track of household tasks!
Download your Free Printable Chore Chart now.
Printable Chore Chart
nice idea,rhanks
This would be great for my five year old, once he learns how to read.
great idea to keep it a routine
Aww thanks this is a fabulous ideal too use thanks for posting it
Thanks for sharing – my son is two and a half and I have started him with basic chores 🙂
Don’t tell my mom this, but I’m actually grateful she gave me lots of chores growing up because when I left home, I knew how to care for myself.
Thank you!
You are very welcome, Vanessa!
Thank you for the post! I have two kids and they are really helpful when it comes to house cleaning. I am planning to to make them individual chore charts and some kind of rewarding system with stickers. They just grow so fast and I want to keep it interesting for them to do cleaning and organizing! I will definitely use the printable! 🙂
I just added this web site to my rss reader, excellent stuff. Can not get enough!
Hi Kelli!
I love your site and subscribed, but I haven’t received the link to print the chore chart. Can you help? Its perfect for my tween girls!
Hi Kim, Send me an email and I’ll make sure you get the free printable. 🙂 Kelli
Having the same problem. Subscribed but it doesn’t send me the link to print the chore chart.
Hi Jessica, If your popup blocker is on you may not be able to see the printable. It should show up in the bottom of the screen. You can email me and I’ll make sure you get it. 🙂 Kelli
Hi,
the download link isn’t working. Is it possible to get the chart?
Thanks
Hi Ramona, You should now be able to sign up for my daily email and access all the free printables. You will find all the printables there. 🙂 Kelli
You can sign up here: https://www.freebiefindingmom.com/email-signup/
I signed up for your free printables and they all link to your email sign up. There’s no way to download the chore chart
What a printable! If I were to do it myself it would probably be an ugly black and white deterrent to doing chores 😀 while yours may hopefully serve as an encouragement. I have some star stickers lying around that they can put on once the chore is completed. Thanks!
I’m glad it is helpful. 🙂 Kelli
I signed up for the emails and received the subscription activation email and clicked it. Still couldn’t access the chore printable. Any help would be appreciated, thank you!
Hi Betsy, Did you paste the code you were emailed to the top of this page https://www.freebiefindingmom.com/printables-2/ and click “Access Printables”? Kelli
I am not able to print this?
Hi Shannon, You need to sign up for the email newsletter to download the free printable. You can sign up here: https://www.freebiefindingmom.com/email-signup. After activating your subscription you will get a code to enter on this page where you can access all the free printables. Hope that helps! Kelli
This is fabulous! We just got to the lazy teenage years and I’m so sick of nagging my daughters to help out. So this is fabulous for accountability. Might even whip up some super cute stickers on my vinyl cutter as well. Signing up – thanks for creating and sharing.
Hi Sam, I’m happy to hear this freebie will come in handy for you. Thanks for sharing! 🙂 Kelli
signed up…put access code but can’t print this off. 🙁
Hi Melissa, Please make sure you don’t have an extra space when pasting the code. Hope that helps! 🙂 Kelli