RoutineKit

Chores for 5-year-olds

Five-year-olds can own a few daily jobs and start to manage their own things. The chart below is already filled in with these jobs: edit it, then print.

Daily

  • Make the bed (roughly)
  • Set the table
  • Feed pets
  • Unpack school bag

Weekly

  • Put clean clothes in drawers
  • Empty small bins
  • Wipe the table after meals
Tasks (7)
Look & print settings
My jobs this week
TaskMonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Make the bed (roughly)
Set the table
Feed pets
Unpack school bag
Put clean clothes in drawers
Empty small bins
Wipe the table after meals

Reward: Pick the Saturday movie

✎ Edit

In the print dialog choose Save as PDF for a file, and turn on Background graphics to keep the colours. Your chart saves automatically in this browser.

Making it work at 5

Tip: Praise the effort, not the result. A lumpy duvet is still a made bed.

Children this age often like ticking boxes themselves. Laminate the chart or slide it into a sheet protector and use a dry-erase marker.

General suggestions drawn from common child-development guidance (for example HealthyChildren.org, the AAP’s parenting site), not milestones. Every child is different.

Questions parents ask

What chores can a 5-year-old do?

Daily: make the bed (roughly), set the table, feed pets, unpack school bag. Weekly: put clean clothes in drawers, empty small bins, wipe the table after meals. Five-year-olds can own a few daily jobs and start to manage their own things.

How many chores should a 5-year-old have?

As a general suggestion, two or three daily jobs plus one or two weekly ones. A short list that really gets done beats a long one that gets ignored.

Should a 5-year-old get paid for chores?

Families split on this. A common approach is that everyday family jobs are unpaid, while extra jobs can earn pocket money or a reward. The reward line on the chart works either way.

More free charts