Like most children, mine has been asking for new toys and games lately. And I’ve been trying to begin the ladder of “the value of a dollar” because when I tell him we don’t have the money right now (after saying no and being questioned lol), he’ll watch me pull out of the atm and tell me he sees we have money. I figured this was the perfect time to try to show him that money doesn’t just come out of machines, that you have to work for it, and that there are Bills that need to be paid to live. I don’t want to overwhelm him, so I’m looking for things he can do around the house to make an allowance and then on how to introduce savings to him. P.s. right now, he has a bed that is elevated from the floor, so making his own bed would be difficult for him, it’s difficult for me lol
Mine helped loading and unloading the dishwasher. He had a stool. He also vaccummed.
Can also help with laundry like socks, shorts, towels, washcloths… small simple “hotdog/hamburger” folds. Picking up his messes and cleaning up after himself.
Mine pick up the living-room, help sort laundry, I have them help with washing dishes by hand (even tho we have a dishwasher) they rinse while i or my eldest kids wash, and vacuum their own room.
I taught my kids to not talk back or question where my money goes when i tell them no to toys. As long as they have food, shelter, and clothes. Adults should not have to explain adult responsibilities to kids when they comment about “I see we have money”. WE are the parents. Not their friends or their bankers.
Mine is 5 he helps bring the dirty laundry to the machines and helps put it in the washer and push the buttons for washer and dryer (I do dyer shift as its stacked) he helps bring the laundry to the couch where I fold, he clears his dishes when fully finished eating when asked, will help choose, bring and put away food as the preperation is commencing, he helps cook supervised, tidies his messes, helps clean up his books and stuffed toys as well pull off and put the dirty bedding by the laundry room for me while I put the sheet etc on as well helps put the pillows in the cases, he doesn’t enjoy the loud of the vacuum so I don’t ask for help with that, puts garbage and recycle where it belongs, he also gets himself breakfast occasionally or snacks after asking first if he’s allowed to eat the requested item, he helps put away the groceries as well ask and pick out food to put in the shopping cart when shopping.
I hate dishes with a passion so that I do alone until he is bigger as it’s by hand.
Pick up the toys ,tidy bedroom, help put washing in piles with you ,
Start off with just giving him two chores. Like you say. You don’t wanna overwhelm him. Easy chores to start with.
If you have any pets. Ask by feeding them. Dogs taking them on walks accompanied by an adult. And his room.
You know your 4-year old’s abilities better than us.
Mine picked up their toys, clothes, and trash at that age. They also had to put their cups and plates in the kitchen at those ages
My 3 year old feeds the dog, helps move the laundry from the wash> dryer> hamper and cleans up his toys all with help and supervision.
They can help with laundry sorting and you can use that time to teach colors. They can pick up books and toys.They can help with anything they can reach. Maybe make up a chart with rewards, X chore gets points or small cash reward such as a quarter, harder chores worth more. Doing chores without being asked extra points or few cents.
Carry the silveware to the table for dinner. Put away towels in the closet. Wash the window. Wipe the table. Small things.
My 11 year old can clean an entire kitchen top to bottom, not that he does this at once, but he can. Also the bathroom. Any household he can do. But regularly washes dishes and cleans bathroom daily. There is only 3 of us and our home is never nasty. We do need to work on learning to cook though, but he always wants to help. He knows his chores will be done, so he starts on his own. He rather get it out the way so he can be on the game or phone.
Folding wash clothes. Putting their dirty clothes in the hamper. Cleaning up after himself.
All three of my littles loved to dust for me🤗
I would tell my kids I have no money. They would say just write a check LoL 
Put away clean clothes, fold washcloths, take out trash, pick up otem scattered, clean bathtubs. Yes you will have to redo but my 8 year old started at 5 and can now do chores. 10 dollars a week. Any day he missed chores we deduct 1 dollar. He now can save for games. He also helps yard work
Help fold laundry take out trash sweep mop possibility s are endless use your imagination
My daughter’s almost three but she loves helping me put stuff in the washer and dryer, she picks up her toys and she loves helping me clean countertops and the refrigerator with little cleaning wipes lol. She also likes helping feed the cats and dogs.
Vacuuming, watering plants/grass, feeding pets/filling water bowl, loading the dishwasher (plastics & silverware only if not trusted with glass). Let him push/turn all the buttons & knobs. Anything that involves a machine or water little kids often enjoy helping with and mimicking mom and dad.
Cans and bottles and recycling my 8 year old does!
My son is 4 and he does these chores:
Dusting, taking out the small bathroom garbages, putting away his laundry after I fold it, filling up the dogs water bowls, watering our plants. Filling the dogs water and watering the plants are daily, the others are weekly.
My 2 year old puts toys away and picks up garbage
My 4 year old same, plus put clothes in dirty laundry, takes clothes out of dryer and into a hamper, puts shoes on shelf, cleans off table, fix the pillows on the couch, make his bed.
putting his toys away, dusting the baseboards, wiping down the table with a wet cloth, matching socks, take their laundry hamper to the laundry room
I have a 5 year old and he helps unload the dishwasher, fold clothes (horribly😆), put his clothes away, feed the dog, and picks up after himself.
By 4 mine would pick up there room and make there bed. By that age they started wanting to help me do things which also inturn taught them to do things like sweep or sort laundry. Nothing really big.
My 5 year old is in charge of the small trash cans. She is also able to feed our dogs, let them in and outside. She knows which buttons to push to run the washer and dryer. She helps me fold laundry, mostly her things. And then puts away her things and occasionally her younger sisters things (takes it to their rooms). She’ll unload the dishwasher by putting the clean things on the counter so I can put them away. She’s also able to operate our robot vacuum.
*she does NONE of these things on her own but she does know if mom wants to be able to sit and play on her phone or watch tv then mom gets her chores done. So if she wants tablet time or play a game on my phone, she has chores to complete too.
Clean his own room
Help set the table for dinner
Set the table for meals, help clear the table. Keep their room clean/ put away toys. Help fold laundry.
When my kids were little, they had to pick up their toys & put them away. Thankfully back in the 70’s they were outside more than inside. But once a month i gave them $1, because they picked up the toys & behaved themselves& we would go to a store & they got to puck out what ever their wanted. Now $1 today isn’t the same as it was back then. . So you will have to figure out what they should get & how much, as long as they do as you ask them to do
Not bashing I promise but I wouldn’t go to the atm after telling a four year old there is no money.
Gohenry is a card for kids and it has where you can make chores, such as taking out trash and stuff like that. He earns money and then it goes on a debit card and he manages his own money.
I started replacing “we don’t have any money” with things like “We have other priorities for our money right now” or “we’ll have to save up for that” and it’s make a huge difference with our 5 year old
My grandsons clean thier room. Load dishwasher. Vacum. N takes garbage out with my assistance.
Using a drawing on a place mat draw how to set the table
Pick up toys
Fold towels
Clothes in hamper
Dishes with you they are standing on a stool.
I make my son clean his toys and put his clothes in the clothes basket and he’s about to start feeding and watering the dogs too. He will be 4 next month.
Putting the towels away, picking up toys, dusting LR furniture, feeding the animals…
My 3yo feeds the dogs and puts the silverware away (not the knives) and my 7yo washes some basic dishes, gives the dogs water, helps clean her hamster’s cage, and puts her laundry away. They both also help pick up the living room & their bedroom. They also pick up after themselves such as putting their dishes in the sink after a meal, dirty clothes in the hamper, hang towels after bath, etc. It’s a lot of reminding, but it gets done
Honestly pretty much anything… my 4 year old helps me do all chores. Some he does alone, some he has to have my help.
Toys put away before bed. Clothes in the hamper. Take care of plate, cup and silver wear at dinner. Sweep. Dust.
Sometimes I’ll be doing something a little bit harder and I’ll ask them to help, you could say $1 if you help me finish or give me a hand.
Any job. Even if he isn’t getting it done to your standards. My son helped me vacuum, mop, whatever I was doing I would include him (and sometimes redo when he wasn’t looking lol). Now he’s 10 and does his chores without me asking to earn screen time or sometimes a little money. The important thing is if he’s putting in effort to help, to the best of his abilities.
Mine fills the cat’s water bowl, sets the table and helps dust.
Have him fill a jar full of marbles. Picture on the jar of what he wants to earn. Every good deed gets a marble, especially when he’s encouraged to change his behavior and he does- I have 2 teenagers, trust me it’s important to set rewards for this now 
My 4 yr old takes out the laundry fron the dryer, helps put dishes away from dishwasher, cleans toy room. Waters plants. Dusts.
My daughter’s just turned 5 and pretty much helps us with most things, waters the plants, puts washing away, dusts, does dishes, helps make lunches, Hoover’s, empties bins, feeds the dog
My 5 year old likes to help was dishes so I let her wash forks and spoons only and any plastic. She ended up washing 2 pots, lol. Also wiping the walls (while I’m wiping them down) folding her clothes and feeding the cat.
To show the value of money, arrange with the bank in advance to get stacks of ones (or fives or tens). Show him how much there is in your paycheck/s.
Then count out how much you pay for your expenses and savings, putting the appropriate number of bills in each pile for rent/mortgage, HOA/condo fees, utilities (including Internet, computers and cell phone/s), groceries, car payments, car maintenance (don’t forget new tires, AAA), gas, public transportation costs and tolls, insurance, clothes, house upkeep expenses and repairs (1/12 of approximate yearly costs), school expenses and activity fees, college loan payments, vacations, entertainment (including cable & Netflix) savings, 529 plans, investments, taxes, emergency funds, miscellaneous expenses (credit card charges that don’t fit other categories, for example), and on and on.
It’s a graphic representation of how much money you need coming in and where it all goes, and just how much you have left after it’s all parceled out.
For younger ones, lessons in wants vs. needs may suffice, but reminders are good for any age. That laptop you need for school is a need, the video game is a want. The yoghurt is more of a need, the cookies are more of a want. A pair of pants is a need, the expensive designer ones with embellishments are a want.
My kids always complained about their clothes, so when they were 12 and 9 we budgeted $100 per month or so per child. They got to pick their own clothes, underwear, shoes, coats, etc., but when the $100 was gone, that was it, and if they were unhappy, they had no one to blame but themselves.
Now that they’re adults, my daughter buys lots of cheap clothes she can change up easily then donate when she’s done, my son buys very few unique, expensive things, then wears them repeatedly until they wear out completely.
I also taught them about value and cost per wearing. If they were hard on certain items like underwear or shoes, to buy sturdier, long-lasting ones that might cost more but wear better. If it was something they’d wear all the time, like jeans, T-shirts, whatever, you could pay more than for something you’d only wear rarely, like a fancy dress or tie. Divide the cost by how many times you expect to wear something, so $100 jeans you wear 100 times before they’re worn out is $1 per wearing. A prom dress that costs $50 is $50 or maybe $25 per wearing if you wear it twice. So buy jeans new, but go thrift for the prom dress. Buy good quality black pants, but get the trendy top from a discount store. And take into account if something will go out of style by next season, or be quickly outgrown or easily lost (like mittens).
Have a chore chart with gold stars or other stickers, and if your child/children do all their chores/tasks in a week, they get a small reward: dollar store item, a 15-30 minute extension on their Friday bedtime, their choice of menu fir one meal, an extra bedtime story, whatever other than a good reward. It’s a visual reminder of what needs to be done (less nagging) and what they have accomplished (positive self esteem). You can add to or change up the chart every week or every month if kids would rather change chores.
Pick up their rooms/ the house
Feed the pets
Clean up the shoes
Put their laundry away.
Rinse off the dishes in the sink.
Sweep, dishes, feed an animal, pick up clothes, help with dinner , set out plates and silverware for dinner, pick up toys
Feed and water the dogs, pick up their room, put dirty laundry in their basket
Pick up toys, sweep, help put dishes away with you, wipe off the kitchen table
I’m not sure how old he is however there are a tons of charts with age appropriate chores. I don’t believe in giving " rewards, or gifts" to my kids. But when they were younger they could earn small amounts of money however with that money to learn the value of a dollar if they wanted certain weird snacks or as they got older a special weird drink or tee shirt they could save the small amounts and purchase it. My kids grew up knowing every dollar you have was earned and you can do with it what you wish. They also had to work for their ability to have wifi or their phones as they grew up. I have to pay bills so their chores paid theirs. They now pay their own bills and no how to budget for what they want vs what they need
Try dollar tree it might help
If you have a dishwasher have him help unload and certain things. Mine has helped put silverware away…except knives. He puts aways plastic wear and just getd a chair to do it. Mine also has to clean up the shoe area and make it look nice. Help sweep or vaccuum. Pick up toys , dust off tables or other things. Fold and put away his clothes. Our husband taught our kids to fold laundry at 3 years old. They like being helpers. The larger things are harder. But he is 5 now and does well at folding his own clothes and small towels or washclothes. He also is particular so he puts them away sometimes. Lol
have em mow the lawn and reupholster the furniture
Tidy their mess, feed pets, water plants.
Picking up toys. Putting clothes in the dirty clothes. My 5 year old granddaughter feeds her dog and her mom has her dusting certain things and picking up her room daily. Dusting was my first chore. Maybe teaching how to put some clothes away. How to fold small things. As their coordination improves, you can add more things. Picking up sticks in the yard.
My lil girl is 5 and she’s done this with me since walking she helps me with laundry she helps dishes n she gets them clean lol she picks up her toys washes them dusting loves that she picks sticks up outta the yard b4 we mowe ahe is my only child and we do everything together she’s just always helped me idk hopefully this helps ya on a few tips
Mine cleans up toys, she loves using cleaning wipes and wiping stuff down so I make her some wipes (she has eczema and can’t have some stuff on her skin) and set her loose. She’s learning to sweep and vacuum (she’s good with our handheld vacuum) and she loves to help cook and do dishes even though I sometimes have to re do some lol I’m pregnant and having problems moving so she’s been a great help
Fold towels, feed pets, clear the table, empty trash
I have a 3year old and for chores we do picking up toys/ putting dishes in the sink/dirty laundry in the hamper. He asked for a small broom and loves to sweep
He loves to clean 
My 5 year old’s daily chores are:
Fill kibble bowls for cats
restock paper towels, napkins, and toilet paper in the house
Keep bedroom clean and make bed every morning
Put all the kitty toys in the toys basket at night
Put everyone’s spare shoes back in the bedrooms
My almost 3 and almost 6 year old set the table for dinner and clean up afterwards. They help vacuum and sweep as well.
Clean their room, sweep, sort laundry, fold socks, take out recycling to the bin, feed and water the pets.
My 5yr old is made to pick up toys, clean her room, dry dishes, take clothes out of dryer,put her own clothes up and feed pets. Not all of it is a every day thing and sometimes it’s a fight, but we manage.
My 3yr old does chores… she feeds and water her dog, cat. Takes out trash and helps do dishes…
I give allowance for watching videos about finances/retirement/stocks, budgeting, creating artwork, reading books, and other educational projects.
Chores don’t always have to be cleaning. Get creative with what would be most helpful for your family.
Wiping down cabinets, doorknobs, light switches, baseboards, dusting, folding kitchen towels/rags, cleaning up toys etc…
Our grandsons started out emptying the dish washer. They put items on the counter or table from the dishwasher and then mommy puts away in the cupboard. Also do the garbage pick up…ie from each bedroom, bathroom and bring to kitchen to the main garbage. Brushing their teeth at nite before being asked was another one. They received check marks on a board and the received an “allowance” weekly.
Mine vacuums and takes out the trash for me.
Clean room, sweep floor, put dishes in the dishwasher, wipe down table and counters, feed pets, help put laundry in and take out of washer/ dryer. My 6 year old loves helping me wash walls and kitchen cabinets and clean glass sliding doors.
My daughter is 5 and she loves to water the plants, feed the cat, put the trash bag in the trash can when trash gets taken out, and she is learning to help me fold laundry. And she has to pick her toys up at the end of the day.
My six year old does four chores a day to earn 10$ a week and daily screen time(xbox,ipad). He unloads the dishwasher, scoops cat litter, feeds the cat and put away and hangs laundry with me. He also takes out recycling etc. I let him pick his four each day and bigger ones like dish washer equals two chores. It works out great for us. He already does normal picking up that is not considered chores like putting dirty clothes in bin or taking plate to sink. My three year also does a few chores a day as well like set tables, clean toys, make bed. They’ve been helping since they could walk and are super responsible and ask to help me often.
It’s ok to tell tell your child " NO" even if u do have money.
Not things that need to be done daily like picking up their dirty clothes and cleaning up after themselves (cleaning up after meals, and after playing). That everyone should be doing. Feeding the dog shouldn’t be a chore either, they should want to feed the dog so the dog lives. Not so they get money.
Washing dishes before you put them in the dishwasher, gathering garbages, dusting, sweeping and mopping, vacuuming would all be good chores.
just let em be babies til they’re like 7-8 THEN crack out the hammah
Chore chart with $ values. Open a bank account and make weekly or bi-weekly deposits along with a piggy bank for fun extras they want to save for. Make a big deal about finding spare change and adding it to the fun savings. Had regular piggy banks that would get stolen from so use something hard to get into.
Mine helps with dishes and he’s actually pretty good… he likes to help me sweep 
and mop 
My little one loves to do dishes so I give her mostly the cutlery but not the knives and some plates. I also get her to put her washing in her washing basket in her room. She also has a hamster so she has to feed him and help clean him out x
My 19 month puts her toys away. I would get a child to put clothes in the washer but don’t give her the stuff to put in, you put the stuff in. And show her how to turn it on c
Putting the dirty washing in the machine ready for a grown up to add the chemicals. Then show him what dials go where and press start.
Handing you the wet clothes to hang up/putting them in a cold tumble drier ready for you to turn on.
Help separate the clothes of who’s is who’s, pairing socks, holding clothes hangers for you to put clothes on.
Putting away his toys when he’s done with them.
Dusting, wet wiping counter tops, sweeping with a small dustpan n brush, sorting out the recycling.
This is also a great time for you to start introducing at home maths. You can put a list on the wall of chores with prices attached and they can see their total adding up and then if they see something for X amount they’ll know that they need to do R/S/T to get the amount they require 
Now would also be a good time to open them a bank account. I opened my daughter a bank account when they had a rather heavy piggy bank…came to a fair amount
My 4 year old, folds washing, puts away the clean dishes from the dish washer, vacuums, wipes down kitchen cupboards, washes the glass sliding door.
(Obviously she doesn’t do all of these daily, she only does the dishwasher daily/every other day, and everything else is when she wants to help or earn some money to spend when we go to the shops).
Lift/tidy toys, give old toys to charity for new toys, there still very young so chores at that age are a no for me personally but i would ask yo tidy up after use, help put washing in the machine ect
Make there beds you fix it up later when they can not see. Dust shirting boards, match the Sox’s etc
Folding laundry ? Or hoovering maybe my daughter is three and she helps me do laundry and hoover and pick all her toys up I don’t even have to ask her she just does it
5 year old tidys her room and puts her dirty clothes in the basket , shoes in the shoe box ect
*Pairing the socks after they’ve been washed?
- Helping put shopping away
- watering the grass/plants
- washing the car
- packing lunches
- tidying toys - bath time for toys works well and is fun!
*sweeping up (even if no better after)
*sorting shoes - washing up ( I don’t mean let them do the pots and pants etc just kids plastic plates cups etc)
Kids are never to young to help out my daughter is nearly 4 and loves the chance to help promotes independence and gives the encouragement needed to give things ago.
I saw a while ago a parent had put Tasks/chores written and a picture on and the amount associated with that chore. Helps kids understand that everything had a price and if there price on the latest toy requires a wait and hard work another lesson on life right there!
Good luck
I know you can get a Dyson hoover specially for kids which runs on batteries and actually hoovers up, tidying up toys/clothes, bringing folded clothes upstairs to his room, bringing dirty clothes down to put in washer, wash dishes together? These can be made fun too
Jessica Chavez Katt, thoughts?
Pick up their toys, put away their clothes, clean their rooms, make their beds, if you have a pet you can have them feed their pet while watching. I have a farm I have my boys collect eggs and put in new hay in the nesting boxes.
My 5 chores for my son (he’s 6) is cleaning his room, letting the dogs out, feeding the dogs, having a good day at school, and helping pick up his toys. We started it last year. He’s been starting to help with dishes like putting them in the dishwasher, brining his dirty clothes down stairs, packing his lunch box. He’s been doing the last three on his own. I give him $15 a week and just let him spend his money how he likes. I’m weird and think, he doesn’t tell me how to spend my money so I don’t tell him how to spend it but I for sure point our reminders like hey, just remember this toy is $40 so that will only leave you xx amount.
My 3 yr helps with everything laundry dishes dogs even cleaning the cars mopping sweeping even vacuuming. Toys. We taught him early on that it’s our responsibility to care for him but if he wants something special he has to earn it.
At that age, my daughter helped with dusting, putting her toys away, loading the dishwasher, sorting laundry, watering plants, feeding pets…you name it, she helped 
My nearly 3 yr old likes to help me do everything. Cook, vacuum, dishes, fold washing, make beds etc she will pick up her toys… She doesn’t do any of it properly and more times than not will make more mess but she enjoys “helping”
Mine helps wipe down the lower cabinets, feeds and Waters the chickens dogs cat. Water’s the horses. Wipes down the table chairs. Wipes down the baseboards and helps me dust. We are working on folding towels right now and she loves it.
My boys are 6 and they dust, vacuum, take the trash out, they even put the can at the end of the driveway sometimes they have to work together so some weeks it’s not going to happen 
. They sweep, feed the dogs. Recently started having them put clothes away on the regular.
All of these chores are great! As for the savings, give him a certain amount each week, and then have him pay “bills”. Like give him $10 and $1 for food, $1 for rent, $1 for hydro, $1 for electric. It will teach him the responsibility of paying bills, and then take his “bill money” and put it in a savings account for him for when he’s older!
My 8 year old son has a chore board. Every 100 points he gets he will earn $5. I set up his chores with 20 points being what I want him to do and then go down to 15 points, 10 points, 5 points throughout the week. To get 20 points he must read/write, do math or a learning app for at least 20 minutes a day. To get 15 points he has to help with whatever his dad and I ask him to do throughout the day (help take trash out, help with laundry, clean the toilet, read to your sister, etc) or clean his room. To get 10 points he has to put his clean clothes away and empty his dirty laundry into the dirty laundry bin. 5 points is another miscellaneous, which can be another whatever we ask him to do that’s simple. I always make sure to earn the most points, he has to do something that involves learning. We’ll be adding more to his chores soon. He’s saved around $300 so far. When we go out he’s allowed to buy what he wants (within reason) as long as he uses his money. He is to count his money, give correct change and make sure correct change is given back to him. He was very proud of his self for saving enough money to buy his dad a Father’s Day gift that he didn’t have to ask me for money to buy.