Chores for 5 and 7 Year Old Girls!

My 7 year old just started hanging laundry in exchange for iPad time... She also swiffers the wood floor, scrubs the toilets, dusts and windexes the bathroom counters. The 5 year old can also dust and swiffer, fold towlels, sort laundry and clean up toys/shoes etc...

Here's what my 6yr old has been doing for at least a year.

water the plant
feed the cat
fold socks and undies and put them away
take out recycleables
empty out lunch bags (hers and mine so she learns it's also about helping others)
clean up table after dinner
and other little things along the way I ask her to do

Target has a great dry erase chore chart. It has the days of the week and a place where you can write down the chores. Then it has different colored little round magnets where your kids can mark off the finished chore.

I don't have kids but I remember at about age 5 I was responsible for dusting, sweeping and vacuuming. I lived on a farm so my job was also to feed the dog and in the winter take the water hose out to the barn and bring it back in. (For non-farm people, this was to get water from the hydrant to the animals water tank - since water expans when it freezes any water left inside expands and blocks the hose- hence the need to keep the hose above freezing or drain the water. No many farms use automatic waterers with heated pipes.) The house hold chores used to occur on Saturday. My mom would go to town for groceries and I have until she returned to get the jobs done. She usually returned at about the same time noon. If I had them done on time and to standards I would get a candy.

My 4 y/o puts away the silverware, feeds the dog, puts his clothes in the laundry basket in the laundry room, picks up his toys and puts them back where they came from, puts the shoes away in the cubby's and he likes to help dust.
My 8 y/o feeds his lizard, the cats, the fish and shrimp, the chickens, vacuums, puts toys away, clears the table, sets the table, collects the garbages from the bathrooms, puts dirty clothes in hamper, scoops pooh, and puts away his clean laundry.

All 3 of my kids help with the dishes (loading their own and occassionally other things if they are in the sink.)

They all do the following chores (rotated every week):
Vacuum the living room
bring the laundry from the hamper to the washer
wipe the table and counters

They also all do the following:
Put their pajama's away (my oldest does all of her clothes)
Keep their rooms clean (or clean them when needed)
help with other tasks when asked (the boys like to clean bathrooms and my daughter likes to mop)

My kids are 5, 7, and 9 and we've been doing this for almost 2 years now...

we started chores when our boys were 3.5. They did little things like water the plants (I'd fill the watering cans for them), take out trash, put away toys, empty the dryer then pushing it to our room, sorting socks (fun and learning), put their dishes away (we have their stuff in a low cabinet they can reach). Now it's evolved, a little, but we still do not have an allowance (today is their 5th birthday). For 5 and 7, you might consider helping with outdoor chores, like raking, and household chores like dusting and vacuuming, clearing the table, putting laundry away, making beds, etc. My theory is you start with an allowance, and take AWAY money when they do not comply. That is what we are doing with our good job jar. Our good job jar is an incentive for them to get off the pull-ups at night. For every pull up they keep dry, I put 50cents in the jar, the price of one pullup. When the jar is full they get to use the money for something fun. If they DON"T comply with a request, I take money OUT.

For $$ my 8 yo vacuums the house every day (stick vacuum) and my 5 yo feeds the dog. Both take out recycling and put away their own clothes after folded and sort and ball their own socks. they alternate taking the trash to the curb on trash day.

For no $$ and just because this is what we do as being part of a family they make beds, clean toys, clean rooms, help set table, take dishes to sink, load dishwasher.

Regardless, I still have to remind them, but they know I only remind once, then I do their chore and they either don't get paid or get a privilege taken away. Sometimes they don't care and that is ok with me. It is about them learning actions and consequences and then not complaining about why they didn't get a lot of $$ on their chore pay day or why they can't play the Wii.
good luck!

-Put their dishes in the sink.
-Tidy up their rooms
-the 7 yr old could dust the wood tables/shelves & clean the bathroom mirrors

My SD didn't have chores until she was 9 but I think it's ok to start at age 7 for sure. She is a teen now & only has 2 chores because I am a SAHM and hubby, SD & HER mom believe I need to do it all. It's ok though. Not how I would want to teach my child to go out into the world but it all works out in the end somehow.

My almost 4 yr old "cleans" his room by tidying it up & helps me "dust".
Extra work for me sometimes but good to get him started, I guess.

Our daughter is 7. She makes her bed daily, cleans her room when needed, empties the bathroom trashes on an as-needed basis, wipes down the dining table after meals and helps me sort laundry on weekends. That's what we've started off with in our house.

Let's see here are some of what my 5 and 8 year old do - though she's been doing these things since age 7:

cleaning their room which includes beds being made in the morning
vacuuming their room
sweeping the dining area
putting dishes into the sink and/or dishwasher
taking out the trash
making their own breakfast - nothing hard toast or cereal with milk
dusting
cleaning the bathroom
doing her own laundry which includes washing, drying and putting it away

Make a list of what needs to be done to be finished. Type it up, print it off and post it in the room.

Like this:
*************************************************
The table is to be cleared of dirty dishes and they are to be stacked by the kitchen sink.

The dining room table is finished when it has been wiped clean and not particles of food remain. The chairs are to be wiped out to remove all food particles too.

The floor is to be swept and all food or drink spills are cleaned up. If there has been food or drinks on the floor it should be mopped up.

The shelves and cabinets need to be dusted and cleaned of any food drips.

The plants need to have a small drink.

The dining room is finished:

when the dishes have been taken to the kitchen, the book shelves have been dusted, the table top is clean and shiny, the floor has been swept and any sticky residue is cleaned up, all plants have had a little drink.

**************************************************
Post this inside a cabinet in the room so they can peek at it to check it off. This way they can check and see if they did it all.

Put one in every room of the house. That way anyone can do that room to your standards each and every time.

She will need a companion for the first few weeks or so to learn the most effective way to do these new chores. If the dad works with them so mom can have a rest time it reinforces that mom works hard too and deserves to have a break.

Setting/clearing the table, taking out trash, feeding/watering pets, watering plants, picking up their toys/clothes, helping carry in and put groceries away, unloading the dishwasher.