What chores should a 12-year-old have?

Their own laundry start to finish, one simple cooked meal a week, daily dishwasher duty, full ownership of their room, trash and recycling, bathroom sink and mirror, and basic yard work. At twelve the list should lean toward complete responsibilities rather than assigned fragments.

Is 12 too old for a chore chart?

No, but it is too old for a babyish one. Use a clean style, real responsibilities, and terms the 12-year-old helped set, and the chart works as a visible agreement rather than a kid poster. The minimalist and black-and-white designs in the generator exist for exactly this age.

Should a 12-year-old be paid for chores?

Most families split it: baseline contributions like their own room and dishes are unpaid, while extras earn allowance. Twelve is also a good age to add non-money currency such as later weekend bedtimes or more autonomy, which many kids this age value more than cash.

How do I get my 12-year-old to do chores without reminders?

Agree the what and the when together, put it on the chart, then stop prompting and let the agreed consequence work once or twice. The handover from your reminders to their responsibility is bumpy for about two weeks; most 12-year-olds settle into self-checking when the nagging genuinely stops.

Paper chart or an app for a 12-year-old?

Start with the printed chart, since a visible family agreement beats one hidden in an app. If your 12-year-old already lives on a device and the fridge chart stops being checked, move the same system to a chore app with points and rewards. Kikaroo covers ages 4 to 18, so the chart-to-app handoff does not mean starting over.

Free Printable Chore Chart for a 12-Year-Old

Twelve is the last stop before the teenage years, and the chart should look like it. A 12-year-old can run every chore a 10-year-old can, plus a few that used to be yours, and they have opinions now about what is fair and what is childish. Both are useful if the chart takes them seriously.

The generator below is already set for a 12-year-old. It pre-fills independence-level chores like doing their own laundry; the minimalist and black-and-white styles print clean for a kid who has outgrown cartoon dinosaurs. Build the list together, agree what it earns, and print it free.

The goal this year is simple: by their next birthday, the chart should describe things they own, not things you assign.

About your children

Child's name

Child's age

year-old

About the chart

Style

colorful

pastel

minimalist

black&white

dinosaur

unicorn

cars

space

safari

princess

adventure map

superhero

Chart type

chores

morning routine

evening routine

reward

behavior

responsibility

Paper size

US Letter

How often?

weekly

daily

monthly

Set the chores

Each image has a description in the form of a chore name, but you can name the chores as you wish.

Weekly chores When to do it?

Weekly chores are larger, more demanding tasks completed once or a few times per week. Because they require more time and effort, they are limited to 5 tasks maximum, helping prevent children from feeling overwhelmed and keeping responsibilities manageable and motivating.

Daily routine covers everyday tasks and habits that should be completed each day, without being tied to a specific time. The focus is on consistency, independence, and building long-term habits. To avoid overload, daily routines are limited to 10 tasks maximum.

Monthly chores are bigger jobs that only need doing once or twice a month, like deep-cleaning the bedroom or sorting outgrown clothes. Each chore gets a checkbox per week, so your child can spread the work across the month. Monthly charts are limited to 5 tasks to keep them realistic.

Morning routine includes simple, repeatable tasks that help children start the day calmly and prepared. These tasks are done after waking up and focus on hygiene, organization, and getting ready for school or daycare. To keep the routine manageable, it is limited to a maximum of 10 tasks.

Evening routine consists of calming tasks that help children slow down and prepare for sleep. These tasks are done at the end of the day and focus on relaxation, self-care, and preparing for the next day. Evening routines are limited to a maximum of 10 tasks to keep them stress-free and effective.

A reward chart connects effort to a goal your child is working toward. Add the tasks, tick off the days, and write the reward on the line at the bottom of the printed chart. Keeping the goal visible all week is a big part of what makes it work.

A behavior chart tracks habits rather than tasks: kind words, sharing, listening the first time. Name the behaviors you want to encourage and let your child tick them off day by day. Keep it positive by charting the behavior you want to see more of, not the one you want to stop.

A responsibility chart covers the things that are simply part of family life, like homework, pets, and tidying up. It works like a chore chart, but the framing matters: these are responsibilities your child owns, not favors they do. Keep the list short so ownership feels doable.

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Your chart is downloading. Print it, stick it on the fridge, and check out the app below to keep the routine going.

Chore chart examples

What chores can a 12-year-old do?

Almost anything, honestly. Chores that fit best at twelve:

Do their own laundry, start to finish
Cook one simple meal a week
Clean the bathroom sink and mirror
Unload the dishwasher daily
Own their room completely: tidy, vacuumed, sheets changed
Take out trash and recycling
Rake leaves or basic yard work

Negotiate the list, then honor it

At twelve, a chart that was handed down gets slow-walked; a chart they helped write gets done. Sit down together, let them trade one chore they hate for one they tolerate, agree what the completed week earns, and put exactly that deal on the printed chart. Then hold your side precisely. You are rehearsing the contract model that keeps chores alive through the teenage years.

See the full teens chore chart page →

Independence is the reward

Money and screen time still work at twelve, but the underrated reward is autonomy: later lights-out on weekends, more say over their room, first solo trips to the store. Kids this age are hungry to be treated as older, and a chart that converts finished responsibilities into trusted freedoms teaches the real adult equation: reliability buys independence.

More free printable charts: the chore chart generator, chore chart for a 6-year-old, chore charts by age, daily chore chart, chore chart for teens.

Pick an image

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Basic daily chores