Kids Kitchen Helper Chore Chart, Free Printable by Age
Every year around Thanksgiving I hear the same thing from young moms. The kids want to help, and there is no room in the kitchen for anyone to help.
I have been there. You are watching the turkey, the rolls are rising, and three little people are standing at your elbow asking what they can do.
I created this because I was exactly where you are, stuck not knowing how to get the kids involved, overwhelmed, and looking for a solution.
It is a one page Kids Kitchen Helper Chore Chart, and it sorts the jobs by age so nobody is standing around waiting.
Ages 3 to 5, 6 to 9, 10 to 12, and 13 and up. Six jobs each, with a checkbox next to every single one. It is free, and you can print it as many times as you want.
Why an Age Based Chore Chart Works
Most chore charts hand every child the same list. That is why they fall apart by the second week. A four year old cannot peel a potato, and a fourteen year old is not going to feel proud about tearing lettuce. When the job does not fit, the child walks away.
Age appropriate chores for kids fix that. Every child gets something they can finish on their own, which is the whole point.
Here is what I have noticed over the years.
- Kids stay in the kitchen longer when the job is one they can actually do without you hovering.
- The checkbox does the nagging for you. They look at the paper instead of looking at you.
- Older kids stop feeling babied. Give a thirteen year old the stove and watch what happens.
- You get your hands free. That is not a small thing on a day when the oven is full.
- Cooking with kids stops being a project. It just becomes how your family cooks.
I have discovered over the years that children do not want easy jobs. They want real ones.
What Is Inside the Printable
One page. No login, no ten page workbook you will never print. Here is what you will find on it. All four age groups sit on that one page, side by side. If you have a six-year-old and a twelve-year-old, you can see both of their lists at the same time without flipping between sheets.
Ages 3 to 5
- Wash vegetables in the sink
- Set napkins at each place
- Put plastic cups on the table
- Wipe the table with a damp cloth
- Tear lettuce for the salad
- Count out the silverware
- Hand items to adults
- Help sort and wash fruit
Ages 6 to 9
- Stir batter or mashed potatoes
- Fill water glasses
- Measure dry ingredients
- Help make the salad
- Peel hard boiled eggs
- Fold napkins
- Put butter and rolls in a basket
- Set the table with plates, utensils, and cups
- Rinse dishes and put them in the dishwasher
- Help with simple food prep
Ages 10 to 12
- Peel vegetables
- Make the deviled eggs
- Prepare a simple side dish
- Help with serving food
- Set the table completely
- Arrange the dessert tray
- Fill the pitcher with water
- Clean up the kitchen as you go
- Help with cooking on the stovetop, with supervision
Ages 13 and Up
- Baste the turkey
- Help plate the carved turkey
- Carry dishes to the table
- Help with planning the meal
- Prep a side dish on their own
- Wash and dry dishes
- Help make the grocery list
- Clean the kitchen after dinner
Every job has a checkbox. That checkbox is the part kids care about most, and I did not understand that for years.
How to Use It
You do not need a laminator or a system. You need a piece of paper and a crayon.
This chart works in two steps. You go first, then the kids take over.
Step One, You Pick the Jobs
Print it the night before. Sit down with it while the house is quiet and read through the age groups.
Check off only the jobs you actually want done this year. You know your kitchen, and you know your children. Skip anything that is going to make more work for you.
Hand out the jobs before you need them done. Ask a nine year old to fold the napkins while you still have twenty minutes, not while the timer is going off.
Step Two, Hand It Over
Tape it to the fridge at kid height, not adult height. Now it belongs to them.
Let them check the boxes as they finish. That checkmark is the reward, and it is the part they care about most. No stickers required, though my grandkids would argue with me on that.
Pro tip: Give each child their own color crayon and let them all work off the same page. One chart, four colors, and you can see at a glance who did what.
If you want to keep it going after the holiday, hang it up on a regular Tuesday and let one child be the kitchen helper for the week. That is how a kids chore chart becomes a family habit instead of a holiday craft.
Want the Rest of the Day to Go This Smoothly?
The chart handles the kids. It does not handle the turkey timeline, the grocery run, or the moment at 2:00 when you realize the rolls never went in.
That is what the Thanksgiving Hosting Companion is for.
I created this because I was standing right where you are. My first Thanksgiving, overwhelmed, wishing somebody would hand me a plan instead of another recipe.
If you have ever stood in your kitchen at two o’clock wondering how the day got away from you, this was made for you.
You will walk away knowing what to cook, what to make ahead, and what time every dish goes in the oven.
It is a nine dollar shortcut that saves you a month of trial and error. Thirty years of hosting, worked out for you. Now you can just use mine.
I have hosted a lot of Thanksgivings. This is everything I wish somebody had handed me the first time.
Get Your Free Copy
Pop your email in below and the Kids Kitchen Helper Chore Chart lands in your inbox in about a minute.
Check your spam folder if it does not show up. Sometimes it hides in there.
Once you are on the list I will send you my seasonal recipes and my hosting tips through the holidays. You can leave any time, no hard feelings.
Frequently Asked Questions
A: Around three, as long as the job is dry, cold, and safe. Tearing lettuce and washing vegetables are perfect starter jobs, and a three year old can do both standing on a step stool next to you.
A: Not for this chart. These are family jobs on a family cooking day, and I keep them separate from the paid chore list on purpose. If your family ties allowance to chores, that is fine, just save it for the everyday list.
A: Let them walk away, then hand the job back to them later instead of finishing it yourself. Say something simple like, the potatoes are still waiting for you. Most kids come back within ten minutes, and the ones who do not have learned something anyway. Finishing it for them teaches the opposite lesson.
A: Yes, and it might work even better. Let one child work through their whole age section over a few weeks, then move up to the next section when they are ready. Watching them graduate to the older list is one of my favorite things.
A: No. I made it for Thanksgiving because that is the day the kitchen gets crowded, but it works for Christmas dinner, Sunday supper, or a plain weeknight. Print it and use it whenever you want.
A: No, and that is the whole reason all four age groups are on one page. Print one chart, hand each child a different color crayon, and let them check off their own section. You will be able to tell at a glance who did what.
The years my kids helped are the years they remember. Not the food, the helping.
Print the chart, hand out the jobs, and let the kitchen be a little louder this year. I know your family will love it.
