20 to 30 minute chores for 16-year-olds
15 jobs that take twenty to thirty minutes that a 16-year-old can do or start learning, with how often each comes up and what it is worth in points.
20 to 30 minute chores at 16
| Job | Stage | Time | How often | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pull weeds | On their own | 20 min | Weekly | 15 |
| Rake leaves | On their own | 30 min | Seasonal | 15 |
| Wash the car | On their own | 30 min | Monthly | 15 |
| Pack their own bag for a trip | On their own | 20 min | As needed | 15 |
| Sort outgrown clothes and toys | On their own | 30 min | Seasonal | 15 |
| Walk the dog | On their own | 30 min | Daily | 15 |
| Wash dishes by hand | On their own | 20 min | Daily | 15 |
| Clean the pet cage or tank | On their own | 30 min | Weekly | 15 |
| Do a load of laundry | On their own | 20 min | Weekly | 15 |
| Mop the floor | On their own | 20 min | Weekly | 15 |
| Shovel snow | On their own | 30 min | Seasonal | 15 |
| Clean the kitchen after dinner | On their own | 20 min | Daily | 15 |
| Clean out the fridge | On their own | 30 min | Monthly | 15 |
| Plan the week's meals | On their own | 30 min | Weekly | 15 |
| Do basic home repairs | On their own | 30 min | As needed | 15 |
On their own means most children this age manage it alone; With you means they start it with a grown-up alongside. Points are on a 5-for-a-small-job scale.
Most 16-year-olds can do alone
- Sort outgrown clothes and toys
- Wash dishes by hand
- Clean the kitchen after dinner
- Clean out the fridge
- Plan the week's meals
- Do a load of laundry
- Mop the floor
- Walk the dog
- Clean the pet cage or tank
- Pull weeds
- Rake leaves
- Wash the car
- Shovel snow
- Pack their own bag for a trip
- Do basic home repairs
Time, added up
- Doing every job on this page once
- 390 minutes
- Longest single job
- 30 minutes
- Shortest single job
- 20 minutes
⚠️ Safety notes for these jobs: Wash dishes by hand: Warm, not hot, water. Knives and glassware stay with a grown-up until they are confident. Do a load of laundry: Keep laundry pods and detergent out of reach of younger brothers and sisters, and show older children how to measure rather than guess. Mop the floor: Wet floors are slippery. Mop toward the door and keep younger children and pets out until it dries. Walk the dog: Depends on the dog and the route. A child walks alone only a dog they can hold back if it pulls, on a route you know, and once they are safe near roads. Clean the pet cage or tank: Wash hands after handling animals, bedding and tank water. Fish tanks need a grown-up for water changes at first. Pull weeds: Gloves on, and show them any plants in your garden that sting or are poisonous.
A day of jobs at 16
- Daily jobs
- a fair share of the household
- Weekly jobs
- whole areas they own, like their laundry and one family dinner
- Time
- what an adult housemate would do
What these jobs teach
- letting go of things
- giving to others
- making decisions
- patience
- order of work (glasses first, pans last)
- hygiene
- seeing a whole job through
- teamwork
In TaskFamily these become jobs on your 16-year-old's own screen, with points, repeat days and the Trust Ladder to move each job from "check every time" to spot checks.
Free for one household. Premium is $5.99 a month or $49 a year for the whole family, never per child.
Keep reading
Ages and times are typical, not rules: children develop at different speeds, and you know yours best. The chore library is TaskFamily's own. The guide text is drafted with AI from these numbers and checked automatically before it is published.