🧹 Chores for 13-year-olds

Chores most 13-year-olds can do alone

Chores to start together

Most children can begin these at 13 with you alongside. Expect to show, then help, then watch.

What a 13-year-old can do

Thirteen is a capable age. Your child can probably make breakfast, pack a lunch, load and unload the dishwasher, take out the kitchen trash, and wash dishes by hand. They can change their bed sheets, do a load of laundry, clean the toilet, and walk the dog. This year they may also be ready to clean the kitchen after dinner, clean the bathtub or shower, change a light bulb, and help with basic home repairs.

Not every 13-year-old is ready for every job on that list. Some run a load of laundry without a reminder; others still need you to check the detergent. That gap is normal. Hand over the jobs they can do safely and keep teaching the rest.

Think of the list as a menu, not a checklist. A steady set of jobs that fits your household matters more than doing all of it. The goal is a kid who can look around a room and see what needs doing.

Daily chores

Pick 3 to 5 daily jobs, not 10. Aim for about 30 to 45 minutes of chores across the whole day, spread between morning and evening. A workable set is to make the bed (3 minutes), put dirty clothes in the hamper (1 minute), pack the school bag the night before (5 minutes), set the table (5 minutes), and take out the kitchen trash (5 minutes). That is five jobs and well under half an hour, so there is room for a pet or a dishwasher.

Daily jobs should be small enough to finish before school or before bed. Making breakfast (10 minutes), packing lunch (10 minutes), unloading the dishwasher (10 minutes), clearing the table (5 minutes), wiping counters (3 minutes), and feeding the pet (5 minutes) all fit. Walking the dog takes about 30 minutes, so treat it as the main daily job on days it happens. Rotate jobs if you like, as long as the total time stays in range.

Weekly and occasional chores

Give 2 or 3 weekly jobs, and make one of them a job your child owns from start to finish. That means they notice it, do every step, and put supplies back. Good candidates at 13: tidy their bedroom (15 minutes), clear out the school backpack (10 minutes), vacuum a room (15 minutes), wipe the bathroom sink and mirror (10 minutes), or change the bed sheets (15 minutes).

Occasional jobs can wait for a free Saturday or school break. Sorting outgrown clothes and toys takes about 30 minutes. Raking leaves, washing the car, and shoveling snow each take about 30 minutes. Cleaning windows and glass doors takes about 15 minutes and should stay to inside and ground-floor glass only. Mop the floor on a day when nobody needs to cross the kitchen for a while.

Jobs to start together

The new jobs this year are worth teaching on purpose. Cleaning the kitchen after dinner, cleaning the bathtub and shower, changing a light bulb, and basic home repairs all need a walk-through. Do the job together once. Then watch them do it while you stay nearby. Then let them do it alone and check the result.

For the kitchen after dinner, teach the order: dishes, counters, trash, floor. For the microwave, let a steaming bowl cool before it comes out, and unplug or switch it off before wiping inside. For hand-washed dishes, use warm, not hot, water, and keep knives and glassware with a grown-up until your child is confident.

For the bathroom, gloves on, the window open or the fan on, and never mix cleaning products. Bleach and other cleaners can give off dangerous fumes. For mopping, work toward the door and keep younger children and pets out until the floor is dry. For windows, inside and ground-floor glass only, no ladders. For laundry, show your child how to measure detergent and keep pods away from younger children.

Making chores stick at 13

Thirteen-year-olds want to feel competent. They push back harder when a job feels like a test they cannot pass. Make the standard clear and boring. Show them what a clean counter looks like. Agree on what a tidy bedroom means: floor clear, clothes in the hamper, desk usable. Then stop renegotiating every week.

Give them choice inside the limit. Ask them to pick two daily jobs and one weekly job they will own. Keep the list short enough to fit on a note. One reminder is fair. A second reminder is nagging. If the job does not happen, follow through with a calm consequence you already named, such as no screen time until the trash is out. Check the work once, praise the specific thing, and review the list on Sunday for ten minutes. If school, sleep, or activities are suffering, cut back before you add more.

Rewards, points and pocket money

Keep the system simple enough to run on a bad week. If you use points, a common scale is 5 points for a small job and 10 for a bigger one. Let points add up to something your child actually wants: a later bedtime on Friday, choosing dinner, a friend over, or a small amount of cash. The reward should come close to the effort, especially at first.

On allowance, a popular rule of thumb is one dollar per year of age per week, so about 13 a week at 13. Many families pay less and add paid extra jobs. What matters is that everyone knows which jobs are part of being in the household and which jobs earn extra. Avoid paying for every small daily task, or the morning routine turns into a negotiation. If your child wants a bigger reward, offer a bigger job: washing the car (30 minutes), cleaning the pet cage or tank (30 minutes), or helping with a seasonal clear-out (30 minutes). Pay for the job you agreed on, on time.

Questions parents ask