parenting
Taking care of the family comes with a pretty long to-do list. There’s laundry to be done, school lunches to be made, and sports practices to drive to.
Having your kids help out around the house is a great way to teach responsibility, and it can make life a lot easier!
But not all chores are created equally: what might be a good task for your 13-year-old might not be the best for your 7-year-old, and vice versa. Keep reading for our favorite age-appropriate chores for 7-year-olds.
The best chores for 7-year-olds
7 is a really exciting age! 7-year-olds are energetic and curious about the world around them. They’re probably asking a lot of questions and starting to form their own opinions.
As they’re super eager to learn, this is an excellent time to introduce new skills and let them try things on their own. Kids at this age can understand and follow a longer series of instructions, too!
So, what are good chores for a 7-year-old? Here are a few ideas:
1. Helping with groceries
Grocery shopping is one of those tasks that needs to be done pretty much every week. You can bring your 7-year-old to the grocery store and have them help you find items, load the cart, check out, and carry bags to the car. While you’re at it, you can teach them how to read expiration dates and check ingredients, especially if any family members have allergies.
Once you’re home, they can help unload and put away groceries. The week’s grocery haul will get put away much faster, and they’ll learn where everything goes!
2. Raking leaves or doing yard work
From raking leaves in the fall to picking up sticks in the spring, yard work is a great chore for 7-year-olds! If you have a garden, they can plant bulbs or seeds, pull weeds, and pick fruits and vegetables that are ready to be harvested.
Bonus: They’ll get to spend time outside! Outdoor time has a ton of benefits for kids, including stress and anxiety relief, a better mood, increased creativity, and improved focus. Some studies have even found a link between time in nature and how well kids do in school!
3. Packing school lunches
While 7-year-olds may not be able to make their own lunches from start to finish, they can definitely help out! You can have them make their own sandwich, grab fruit or prepackaged snacks from the fridge or pantry, or pack everything up for the day.
4. Setting (and clearing!) the table
For family dinners, your kids can help by setting the table with plates, cups, and silverware. They can also put spices and condiments out and bring the food when it’s ready. When dinner is over, they can carry dishes to the sink and put things away.
5. Watering plants
Maybe you have indoor houseplants, a garden, or plant flowers in your yard. Kids can help out with watering! You may need to teach them a little bit first, like how often certain plants need to be watered and how much water they need. Show your 7-year-old how they can check the soil: if a plant is dry or its container feels light, they should water it; if they feel moisture, they should wait.
6. Cleaning out the car
Let’s face it: family vehicles can get messy fast. From snack wrappers left behind to dirt tracked in after soccer practice to water bottles and leftover coffee cups, cleaning the car once a week can help keep things in order. Your 7-year-old can help out by throwing away any garbage, putting items back in their place, and using a hand vacuum to clean floors and mats.
7. Helping with meal prep & cooking
Chances are, your 7-year-old can’t chef up a 4-course meal on their own just yet. But they can help out in the kitchen with meal prep and cooking! To prep, you can have them gather ingredients and measure them, set timers, and grab pots and pans. They can also help crack eggs, juice lemons and limes, grate cheese, and more.
8. Emptying the dishwasher
Another age-appropriate chore? Emptying the dishwasher. Just have kids wait for an hour or two after the dishwasher has finished to start unloading, as plates, glasses, and silverware can be really hot right away.
You’ll also want to remove any sharp objects, like knives, first. If any dishes go in hard-to-reach places, you can help out or have your 7-year-old save those for you.
9. Bringing in the mail
A mini adventure and fun chore all in one, you can put your 7-year-old in charge of bringing in the mail. Of course, if you live on a busy street, you might want to remind them to be safe and look both ways. Who knows, maybe there’s something in the mail for them, like a new debit card or a note from grandma or grandpa!
10. Sorting laundry
Once your kids turn 10, they’ll be old enough to run a load of laundry by themselves and pretty much manage the whole process. Get 7-year-olds started by teaching them to sort laundry. They can divide items into baskets or piles by whites, lights, darks, and brights. If your family washes towels, jeans, or bedding separately, you can have them sort those, too. Feel free to let your kids hang around while you do laundry so they can start learning the basics!
11. Putting laundry away
Once laundry is done, your 7-year-old can help put laundry away. This can look like delivering clothes to each family member’s room, bringing towels to bathrooms, or restocking their own dresser or closet.
12. Shoveling the sidewalk or driveway
If you live in a place where it snows, kids can help shovel sidewalks and driveways. Just make sure they bundle up if it’s extra cold!
How to make chores fun
Some days, your kids might be excited to do chores! Other days… not so much. The key to keeping kids motivated is to make things as fun as possible.
Here’s how to motivate your 7-year-old to do chores:
Use colorful chore charts and stickers: Get kids excited to track their progress with a colorful weekly chore chart. You can also buy stickers that match different chore themes, like fruits and vegetables for putting away groceries and helping with meal prep, flowers and plants for yardwork and gardening tasks, and more. Kids also love anything from their favorite games, movies, or TV shows. When they complete a chore, you can give them a sticker.
Reward them for their hard work: Yes, chores are a family responsibility, and kids won’t always get something in return for making their bed or unloading the dishwasher. Occasional rewards can be a good thing, though! They signal to kids that they’re doing a good job and help them feel appreciated. If you’re looking for ideas, these are a few of our favorites:
- Cool stickers
- Picking out a snack at the grocery store
- Choosing what’s for dinner
- Getting to watch another episode of their favorite show
- Staying up an extra half hour
- A small toy
- An ice cream trip
- A new book
Turn chores into games: To keep things fun, try timed challenges or family competitions. For example, you could set a timer to see who can finish their chore first, see which family member can do the most chores during the week for a reward, or do a scavenger hunt at the grocery store (give each kid a list of items you need for the week and see who can find theirs first).
This can make everyday tasks a lot more exciting!
Let them choose: As most parents know, the easiest way to make sure your kid doesn’t do something is to specifically ask them to do it. Try letting your kids choose the chores they want to do during the week so they have a chance to do more of what they enjoy. Of course, this won’t always be possible (maybe making their bed every day is a non-negotiable in your house!), but it does help kids feel more involved in shared responsibilities.
Play music: Music makes everything better! While cooking dinner, doing laundry, or cleaning up the yard, you can throw on some tunes to keep things light and entertaining.
Benefits of chores for kids
On top of teaching kids life skills, like how to cook for themselves, take care of their space, and do laundry, chores have a ton of other benefits.
They can also boost confidence and self-worth and help kids build a strong work ethic. Plus, kids who have a role in shared responsibilities are more likely to see the needs of people around them and offer help, which we could always use more of in this world!
Should you pay your kids for chores?
To pay or not to pay, that is the question. There are pros and cons to paying kids for chores.
Many people tie family chores to allowance because it helps kids learn money management skills and understand that it takes work to earn money.
On the other hand, there’s research that suggests that paying kids for chores can decrease their motivation to do those tasks. Kids can also become more likely to see chores as a transaction instead of a family responsibility.
The choice is really up to you and what you think will be best for your family! Either way, you can send your kids a weekly allowance and help them learn about money with the Stockpile app.