For kids this age, chores on their chore list can include several steps and require greater strength and more concentration than chores for younger children.

Here are ten kids’ chores that middle school-age children can handle successfully.
  1. Wash and dry their clothes. If you’ve got a big family, you may need to designate laundry times for family members. Consider rotating family responsibility for sheets, towels, and non-personal laundry.
  2. Clean the bathroom. Daily maintenance tasks such as wiping out the shower or weekly tasks such as cleaning the sink and toilet are good chores for younger teens. Have them wear gloves, make sure the bathroom is well ventilated, and teach kids about safe chemical use (for example, ammonia and bleach give off a toxic gas if mixed together).
  3. Care for pets. Tasks may include bathing and taking the dog for walks, brushing the cat and clipping its claws, and cleaning up animal waste. If you have fish, teach kids how to wash out the tank or perform simple maintenance on aquarium filters.
  4. Wash dishes. Middle schoolers can safely wash and dry silverware, dishes, pots, and pans or load and unload the dishwasher.
  5. Watch younger siblings. Depending on how responsible your middle schooler is, he or she may be ready to baby-sit younger siblings while you run errands or take short trips away from home. Kids this age can also help younger ones by helping them get clothes to wear in the morning or walking with them to a bus stop.
  6. Bring in groceries. If your child helps you carry groceries into the house and put them away, you can use this time to talk about why you chose certain foods, what dishes you plan to make, and how the food you bought will contribute to healthy eating.
  7. Take out the trash. Have your child take the garbage to the curb or the garbage can or dumpster. For a while, you may have to remind him or her what day garbage is picked up.
  8. Rake leaves; shovel snow. Both tasks also lend themselves to fun outdoor activities. So as long as the job eventually gets done, let your child play in the snow or jump in leaf piles.
  9. Mow the lawn. This is a task that requires safety training (power mower safety includes ear and eye protection) as well as supervision at first. Start by assigning just one part of the lawn. Add more responsibility gradually.
  10. Wash the car. This is a good task for siblings to do together. The frequency of this chore may depend on the weather and how dirty your car gets.
To help you and your kids keep track their chore commitment, create a Chore Contract and Chore Chart. For a sample of each, click on the following links:
[sample chore chart] [sample chore contract]