Chore chart template
A printable chore chart for the fridge
Each job, whose turn it is this week, and a box for every day so the kids can tick it off. Print a fresh one each Sunday or download it to change the jobs.
Preview: Chore chart
| Job | Whose turn | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Set the table | Zara | |||||||
| Clear and wipe the table | Kai | |||||||
| Feed Biscuit (dog) | Ruby | |||||||
| Unpack the dishwasher | Zara | |||||||
| Recycling out (Wednesday) | Kai | |||||||
The printed version has 8 blank rows under the example ones. The download opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
How the chart works at home
Write each job once in the left column, in words the youngest can read or with a little drawing beside it. Put a name against each job for the week. The kids tick or colour a box each day they do it, and on Sunday night the names move down one row, so the job nobody likes doesn’t stick to one child.
The Okonkwo-Hayes family have three children, aged 6, 9 and 12, and a dog called Biscuit. Their chart has five jobs, which means some weeks one child has two. That’s fine, as long as the doubled-up child changes each week too.
Matching jobs to ages
| Age | Jobs that usually work | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| 4–6 | Set the table, feed a pet, put shoes away | One job, done with a grown-up at first |
| 7–9 | Unpack cutlery, clear the table, sort recycling | Show them once, then let them own it |
| 10–12 | Unpack the dishwasher, bins out, hang washing | Fine to rotate with older siblings |
| 13+ | Cook one simple dinner, vacuum, clean the bathroom sink | Swap a daily job for a weekly bigger one |
If the youngest can’t do every job yet, give them their own short list and rotate the older two through the rest. A chart that gives a five-year-old the bins isn’t fair to anyone.
When a fridge chart isn’t enough
A paper chart works well while everyone lives under one roof and is home most nights. It gets harder with shared custody, sport four nights a week or older kids who are rarely in the kitchen at the same time as the chart.
A live chore roster in FairTurns keeps the turns on a link anyone in the family can open on a phone. Each job is a position, children can be added by name only (no email needed), and Fill gives each job to whoever has had the fewest turns at it. Mark the weekends a child is at the other house as away, and they’re left off those days. For a quick printable rotation without signing up, try the chore roster maker.
Questions
How many chores should go on a kids’ chore chart?
One or two daily jobs per child is plenty for under-tens. Add one bigger weekly job from about ten. More than that and the chart stops getting ticked.
Should chores be paid?
Families split on this. Many keep everyday jobs like setting the table unpaid and pay for extras such as washing the car. Either way, the chart works the same.
Can I change the jobs on this chart?
Yes. Download for Excel or Sheets and type over the job names, or print the blank version and write them in by hand.
What if two kids argue about whose turn it is?
Write the rotation rule on the chart itself, as in the example note. When the rule is on the fridge, the argument is with the chart, not with you.
Read next
Chore roster for kids
Kids’ chores shared out by turns, children added by name with no email, and the parents in charge.
Chores by age
A sensible list of chores children can learn at each age, and how to teach and share them out.
Chore roster maker
List the people and the chores. Each week everyone moves on to a different job.
Make your roster free
Click a day, add people, share one link. No card, no limit on people or dates.