Chores for 11 and 12 year olds (tweens)

Chores for 11 and 12 year olds

Tweens can handle real household work when you set clear limits and hand them choice. Let them try a mix of daily tasks and a few bigger jobs they own.

Every chart on this site is a one-page PDF in letter and A4, with a color version and an ink saving outline version. Print at 100 percent, not fit to page, and use the blank name line so the child signs the chart.

• Cook a family meal once a week
• Do their own laundry start to finish
• Clean the bathroom
• Babysit a sibling for 30 minutes with a parent home
• Mow the lawn
• Wash the car
• Make the grocery list and put groceries away
• Deep clean their room monthly
• Empty and load the dishwasher
• Take out trash and recycling
• Walk the dog for 20 minutes
• Change bed sheets
• Help with yard cleanup or weeding
• Pack their school lunch and backpack

The reward boxes on every chart fit a 1.5 inch round sticker or a 1/2 inch star sticker. If you want a personalized start, sign-up opens a builder that prints the child name on a sticker sheet and makes a star chart and chore chart in the browser.

You can download the printable PDFs or try a ready sheet from our templates. Find the printable templates and extras here: templates and downloads.

Letting the tween write the chart

A negotiated chart lasts longer than a list you assign. Sit together, read the job list, and give the tween final say on two or three tasks.

You set the minimum chores that keep the house running. They pick the rest. Use the blank rows on this chart for the items they choose.

Run the conversation like this: you name the non negotiables, they pick from your list, and you agree the payday or reward. For more on running that chat try this guide: how to make a chore chart.

Allowance jobs for 12 year olds

Keep family expectations separate from paid extras. Expected chores are part of being in the household. Paid jobs are extras the tween can do for allowance.

Use the allowance column for paid extras and the expected column for family work. Read more about allowance planning here: allowance.

Points, allowance and the payday line

This chart has columns for points and allowance. You assign points by job and let the child add up totals on payday.

Pay weekly on a fixed day so the tween sees the rythm. Put a clear payday line on the chart and pay only for finished jobs.

If a job is half done, mark half the points or have a short make up task. Keep rules simple and show how points convert to allowance.

For sticker ideas and reward supplies see the rewards page, where we note what works with the chart boxes: rewards.

When a tween refuses

Do not add chores as punishment. That makes the chart feel like a tool for control, not practice in responsibility.

Remove paid extras first if the tween refuses to cooperate. Keep the expected list short so it stays doable.

Revisit the chart every month at the kitchen table. Let the tween suggest swaps and write the allowance column they care about.