Earning their Keep: Age-Appropriate Chores for Kids to Earn Money
Deciding on the right chores for kids to earn money as they grow can seem tricky. You want to teach important lessons about earning allowance, while not overburdening them.
An effective way to instil life skills in kids while teaching the value of money is having them do chores to earn an allowance.
But where do you start when picking the right kids’ chores for money?
This detailed guide shares the best chores for kids allowance by age, with tips on managing chore charts and allowances. By outlining appropriate tasks, you can foster financial literacy and responsibility from an early age.
Laying the Groundwork: A Roadmap of Chores for Kids to Earn Allowance
Starting a Chore Chart
A chore chart lets kids visually track their progress completing tasks. Split effort into morning, afternoon and evening duties so it becomes routine. Repeat key chores daily, plus assign a “Job of the Day” for variety.
Track with a basic star chart, or purchase motivating boards featuring roads to drive cars down, rockets to blast off, or animals to raise. Mark milestones at the end of rows when kids earn treats like screen time, playdates or picnics in the park.
If providing cash incentives down the road, note payment rates by chore to teach how effort links to money. Review the chore chart regularly to celebrate consistency, or troubleshoot if kids lose steam.
Allowance Guidelines
When granting allowance for chores, set clear expectations. Create a checklist with columns showing:
- Chore name
- Chore instructions – Detail what proper completion looks like
- Allowance provided – Note payment amounts by chore
- Box to mark when done to standard
Link the allowance amount to effort required. Bigger, more complex chores earn more. Pay immediately upon finishing to reinforce the work-money link.
Implement bonus weekends where kids can earn extra for going above-and-beyond on seasonal tasks like washing windows.
Get kids bank accounts so they can visually tally savings. Guide them to set aside portions for spending, saving for goals, and giving to charities.
Age-Appropriate Chores for kids by Ages
Ages 4-5
The key with first chores for young kids is keeping it simple and fun. Focus first on promoting the habit of contribution and responsibility. Then link their efforts to earning an allowance as they show readiness.
Around ages 4-5, introduce mini easy kid-friendly chores like:
- Making their bed – Have them straighten sheets and pull up covers every morning. Make it a fun race against the clock, then reward with praise (and eventually pennies).
- Tidying play areas – Give them a small bin for collecting toys left around the living room or their bedroom floor. Set a daily expectation for them to tidy up.
- Feeding pets – If you have family pets, allow supervised scooping of food into a bowl. Teach them to carefully carry the bowl without spilling.
- Wiping bathroom counters – Place a step stool by the sink and give them a cloth to wipe counters clean after brushing teeth.
At first, praise their willingness to help out. Soon after, introduce a star chart, rewarding each completed chore with stars toward a weekly treat. Or, provide 50p-£1 cash per chore done well to link work and allowance.
Ages 6-7
Add some more rigorous daily and weekly chores for kids at ages 6-7.
Indoor chores can include:
- Emptying small bins – Have them clear bedroom or kitchen bins each evening and take rubbish to the main bin outside. Teach them to double check for stray pieces that may have fallen out and help them understand recycling and why it’s important.
- Setting and clearing tables – Before family meals, give them placemats, plates and cutlery to neatly set places. Show them where cutlery goes. After eating, have them neatly stack dirty dishes by the sink (teach them not to chip the plates!) and wipe down the table.
- Folding towels – After you take laundry out of the dryer or off the washing line, allow them to fold washcloths, hand towels or bath towels (supervise to catch uneven folds at first). Give them a step stool so they can reach linen shelves to put stacks away.
- Helping sort laundry by colours – When moving washing into the washing machine or dryer, have them create piles for lights and darks. Talk through why certain items go together.
Advancing Responsibilities Around Ages 8-9
From ages 8-9, children can absorb more responsibility with focused weekend chores. Larger chores for kids allowance might include:
- Washing cars – Provide two buckets – one with soapy suds and one with rinse water. Show them how to use a sponge in circular motions then rinse. Let them dry with a ‘shammy’ cloth.
- Pulling weeds – Show them how to remove weeds around your garden while keeping flowers or veggies intact. Give them gardening gloves and a trowel for digging out roots below the soil.
- Helping mow straight lines in grass – Allow them to push the mower with you behind for hills/corners. Teach them to point to a tree line to mow straight stripes across lawn areas.
- Cleaning windows – Fill a spray bottle with glass cleaner. Provide paper towels and show the S-pattern motion for streak-free shining inside and out!
Pay £2-5 per bigger chore, treating them to ice cream or other goodies with their earnings. Have them calculate percentages of cash to save toward more expensive goals like video games or toys. For bonus points, teach them that investing their money or at least saving it can make them more money in the future.
You can find some guidance on how to teach your kids about investing and savings in our blog ‘Teaching Kids to Save and Invest Beyond Piggy Banks’.
Be sure to onboard your kids onto the Finabee app to receive free financial education with our Young Savers and Young Investors courses too! Check out how it works here.
Chores for Kids Around Age 10
As kids approach the “tween” ages of 10-12, assign multi-step responsibilities requiring careful attention and checklists, like:
- Doing laundry – Show them how to correctly measure detergent, choose settings/cycles, and fold clean items. Begin supervised then eventually sign-off on solo loads.
- Cleaning the bathroom – Provide natural cleaners and cloths and review scrubbing surfaces, using the toilet brush and mopping floors. Use a checklist then inspect afterward.
- Kitchen duties – Allow them to prepare simple foods requiring slicing, mixing and tidying up dirty dishes after meals. Supervise all oven usage.
- Running errands to neighbourhood shops – Once mature enough to walk alone safely, allow them to shop for bread, milk or pharmacy items with a shopping list and cash to manage.
Pay £5 per more complex chore, with bonuses for consistent quality work or extra efficient effort.
Preparing Capable Teens Around Ages 13+
In the teenage years, steer kids toward entrepreneurial pursuits and professional responsibility. Have them:
- Babysit for neighbours after taking an online certification course – Pay half their earnings and require them to save half.
- Start neighbourhood dog walking or lawn mowing businesses. Provide equipment/materials needed then encourage them to market services, budget costs and time, and manage their own accounts. Check out some equipment/materials here.
- Take safe food prep/serving courses to qualify for restaurant or café jobs if interested. Stress showing up reliably.
- Allow technology consulting gigs assisting elderly neighbours or your workplace with computer issues.
As teens build skills for adulthood, transfer more household oversight like family scheduling and budget tracking to them. Expect quality output with these leadership development opportunities.
You can find resources to help them track their budgets here in our Etsy store!
Some appropriate outdoor chores for kids:
- Watering plants – Show them how to gently water houseplants, then allow them to use a small watering can to nourish plants on the porch. On hot days, have them check back to give an extra splash if soil is dry.
- Picking up sticks/litter in the garden – Give them a bag for collecting fallen sticks or junk that blows into your garden to help keep areas tidy. Supervise for sharp objects.
- Feeding outdoor pets if applicable – Let them give refreshing water/food to pets living outdoors like rabbits or chickens (with supervision).
Instil the importance of following chore instructions carefully and completing tasks properly. Link their effort to allowance earned, giving £1 per daily chore, and £2-3 for bigger weekend tasks.
Additional Chores for Kids to Earn Allowance Tips
Implementing an allowance system linked to chores not only teaches financial literacy, but also imparts important life lessons around responsibility. Below are more tips to make the process engaging while giving kids ownership.
Creative Reward Ideas
While cash allowances provide direct financial rewards, also consider fun incentives to motivate children. Alongside pounds and pence, offer:
- Screen time minutes earned for device use or video games
- Special outings like movies, bowling or trampoline parks
- Favourite treats like sweet desserts, takeout dinners or sweets
- New art supplies, fidget toys or tech gadgets
- Extra play time with friends at home or the park
- Fun family activities like camping, amusement parks and adventures
Cater rewards to your child’s interests to inspire quicker chore completion in earning free time to enjoy them.
Encourage Entrepreneurship
Beyond household tasks, nurture kids’ enterprising spirits through business ventures. Supervise lemonade stand funds, materials and sales. Allow gadget repairs for neighbours at fair rates. Have crafty kids create jewellery, soaps or birdhouses to sell.
Let artistic children design stationery or make custom portraits on commission. Enable tech skills teaching elders computer use for fees. Guiding early small businesses, non-profits or community outreach teaches real-world financial skills.
For more help on how to encourage entrepreneurship in your kids, read our other blog ‘7 Tips to Helping Your Child Start a Business at Home’.
For step-by-step support on helping your kids start a business, be sure to onboard your kids onto the Finabee app to receive free education with our Young Entrepreneurs course or visit our Etsy store for digital downloads that will help inspire your kids!
Assign a “Chore Referee” to monitor chores for kids
Some children attempt cutting corners on chore obligations. Nip subpar effort in the bud by designating a parent the “Chore Referee” who’s oversight ensures jobs meet standards. Create rubrics on what quality completion involves per chore.
Randomly check children’s chore performance against criteria. Provide constructive feedback to uplift good-faith efforts. But for wilful negligence, impose fair penalties like temporarily reduced allowances or revoking a coveted reward.
Appointing a referee stresses you expect children to take responsibilities seriously, just as adult jobs entail oversight. Define acceptable and unacceptable clearly.
Teach Savings Strategies
When children receive allowance cash, break it down by saving goals like:
- 10% to charity/church donations
- 20% into long-term savings accounts
- 50% to shorter-term purchases
- 20% for complementary pursuits like lessons
Opening junior bank accounts at popular banks teaches utilizing banks/ATMs. Have them divide allowances in provided envelopes to make money management habit-forming.
Money for University
Begin a special savings fund just for further education—even small, regular deposits earn compound growth. Estimate future costs to set multi-year targets; research tax-advantaged ISA’s or 529 savings plans.
Involve teenagers in adding summer job or side hustle earnings toward university savings. Have them research scholarships to fund gaps and understand repayment realities before accepting loans.
Truth with Money
If your ‘Chore Referee’ identifies lazy chore attempts only done minimally “to get by”, or if kids grow entitled expecting rewards constantly, reality-check gently. Discuss how service industry workers or contractors couldn’t cut corners and stay employed long.
Note that you wish to prepare them for financial independence where living expenses can’t be skipped, so building diligent money habits now aids their future. But also emphasize your support in collaboratively structuring an allowance system to teach money truths through practice.
Chores as Family Bonding
Rather than demand lone chore drudgery, make some responsibilities shared endeavours. Cook or garden together, then enjoy the fruits of joint efforts over family meals utilizing herbs and vegetables grown.
Schedule seasonal deep cleaning sessions followed by popcorn and movie nights where everyone’s efforts contribute to refreshed spaces and relaxation time. Frame chores less as burdens and more cooperative pursuits that uplift the household community.
By starting money management habits early then increasing responsibilities gradually as kids mature, parents can nurture financial literacy and a strong work ethic effectively. Review if age-appropriate chores align with your child’s growth over time. Offer guidance, praise their efforts and celebrate their developing independence. Instilling financial capability takes patience and teamwork – but the rewards will last a lifetime.
So How Can Finabee Help?
Here at Finabee we believe that all children should have access to financial and entrepreneurial education to inspire and build good money habits from an early age. Read a bit more about us here and how we plan to raise a generation of finance-savvy children for the future. Click here to learn more about how it works.
You can signup to the waiting list here for our app too to be one of the first to use it and be in with a chance of winning a £50 voucher!
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