3-year-old chores are an important part of raising children to be independent adults. This may seem like a silly thought but chores teach responsibility and self-discipline which will help them thrive as they grow up.
Why should 3-year-olds do chores?
We believe that 3-year-olds should be doing chores for the same reason that we believe toddlers should be doing chores. Check out our toddler chore ideas post here!
Children of any age should do chores because it teaches responsibility. If we begin to teach them how to work hard and do things well now, it will become a part of their routines and self-discipline as they get older. Helping with housework also offers them a sense of pride and accomplishment and shows them that they are a part of your household. It should also instill a sense of gratitude for the work that others put into the house as well.
What age range are these chore cards for?
These cards contain chores for 3 and 4-year-olds. These chores are appropriate for any age, but as kids get older, certain actions shouldn’t need to be prompted or they may want less childlike chore cards.
How do you get 3 year-olds to do chores?
Figuring out how to have a 3-year-old do chores is about patience and consistency. If your child has never done chores before, just introduce one chore card and then the reward card. If your child has done these chores before, pick two that they do regularly and one that they don’t plus the reward card.
What are good rewards for when a 3 or 4-year-old does their chores?
When starting out, immediate gratification is the preferable reward. So to start, a Hershey Kiss, listening to their favorite song, or playing with a favorite toy is best. You can do a reward system where they accumulate stickers or coins to be able to “purchase” a reward later as they get used to the chore system.
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How to set up the printable chore cards:
Head over to our Patreon to download the free printables. There are 5 pages of chore cards, with 6 cards on each page. They can be printed on regular printer paper or cardstock.
Next, cut out the cards. Your child can color in the pictures if you want to get them more involved and excited about the chores. Once you have the cards cut out, you can laminate them or glue them to thicker paper if you didn’t have cardstock. We used this self-adhesive lamination paper from Amazon.
The cards include chores that can be done independently or with minor setup from the parent, chores that they can assist a grown-up in but can’t do on their own yet, activities that may not be their favorite but require consistent quiet time and focus, and reward cards.
Independent chores:
- Put away books
- Put away toys
- Make the bed
- Brush teeth
- Get dressed
- Sweep the floor
- Put away silverware
- Bring the laundry down
- Put on pajamas
- Go potty and wash hands
- Brush hair
Prepare for these independent chores by having the clothes picked out and placed in a specific spot, putting toothpaste on the toothbrush, and having baskets for putting away toys or carrying laundry. Remember, the goal is not perfection, it’s training. The bed doesn’t have to be perfect, but it should be done to the best of their ability.
Assisted chores: Help
- pick up garbage
- vacuum
- with the garden
- set the table
- clean the car
- fold the laundry
- cook
- pack to leave the house
These are assisted chores because they will need more direction from an adult. The amount of assistance needed will vary based on the situation, location, meal, etc.
See mom (or dad) for a new job can fall under either independent or assisted chores or independent activities but is there for things that do not fall under routine cleaning or tasks. It gives you the ability to request new things be done.
Independent activities:
- Coloring
- Play with a puzzle
- Read books quietly
- School time
- Play with blocks
Like the independent chores, these may require a bit of setup or initial instruction, but the idea is to give them the responsibility of self-discipline. Set up your expectations of a good attitude and quiet obedience. Remind them that there is a reward when this is done well. Then set a timer so that they know that when it rings they are done and they don’t get up and down multiple times to ask you if their time is up. Start the timer for small bits of time initially, maybe 5 or 10 minutes depending on your child’s temperament and then increase it as you go.
Rewards:
- TV time
- Play outside (although depending on the weather and your child this could be a dependent chore or independent activity)
- See mom for a reward
- See dad for a reward
These rewards can be based on the needs of your home and routine. Before lunch I let the kids watch about 20 minutes of TV so I can reset the house. I let this 20 minutes be the reward for morning chores. The reward can be a sweet treat, calling a friend or family member, a book read to them, or listening to music. Do you have any other reward ideas for preschoolers?
How to implement chore cards for your preschooler:
Prepare the child:
Get your child excited about doing something new. Tell them it may be a little difficult, but they can do hard things. They get the reward when the task is complete.
We started on a Monday morning on a week that wasn’t busy. Figure out what works for your family. Each time that you set up the chore cards, go over with them what they are and what the expectation is for them. The pictures are there to help them when they can’t read, but sometimes that can be confusing. Our daughter has two pillows on her bed but she was convinced she should only put one on because that’s what the picture showed.
Prepare the location and set-up:
The chore cards for our daughter are placed on the dining room table. We did this because the table is at the bottom of the stairs, so she sees it as soon as she comes into the living area. The three we had her do first were make the bed, brush your teeth, and get dressed. She’s still learning how to get completely dressed on her own, but as she is learning, she’ll know that her clothes will be layed out next to her cards and that she can start the process by herself. There is a step stool in the bathroom for her to reach the sink, and when I get up, I put toothpaste on her toothbrush as well. This enables it to be an independent activity. And she’s been making her bed for a while on her own, but now it is a visual expectation for her.
Help them be successful and excited:
As she completed each task, she flipped the chore cards over and when she did all three, I “checked” that had done them. Initially, the parent will be with them the entire time as they are learning the chores, but over time, they will be doing it independently so it is a good idea to get into the habit of having them tell you they did what they were told. We cheered and I offered a lot of verbal encouragement and then she got a Hershey Kiss for her reward. The immediate reward made her excited for the next set of cards.
Something to think about:
The natural consequence of not doing the tasks that they are assigned is that the children don’t get the reward. We had a small battle because she didn’t want to clean up the books for her mid-morning tasks. The reward was the 20 minutes of TV.
I handled this by setting an alarm for when lunch would be served. Then I told her that if the alarm went off before the books were away, then she would have to go to lunch, then nap, and then when she woke up, it would be cleaning the books again. She cleaned them up in a hurry after that. She knew that if she didn’t, it was her choice to not get television time and not me taking television away from her. Verbalized, this looks like: “You have two choices. You can clean up the books right away and get a reward, or you can not get a reward, and clean up the books later.”
Decide ahead of time with your spouse how you want to manage the implementation of chore cards. Rewards and consequences. Family meetings are a great time to do this!
In conclusion:
These chore cards are a great way to introduce chores to your three year old. Chores are great for helping children to learn self-discipline, and give them life skills and a sense of value. While it can be challenging to introduce the chores to your preschooler, patience and time will prove it to be a worthwhile endeavor.
Let us know in the comments below what chores for preschoolers you have!
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So helpful! I have a three year old and want to start doing this with her!!
I hope that you find it helpful!
This is such a good idea! When I was growing up my mom did something like this. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you!
Agree! Chores are so important to start young! Thanks for sharing and encouraging raising responsible kiddos!
Thank you so much!
This is fantastic! Love how interactive it is. My sweet little granddaughter will love this!🤩
Thank you!
I love the printables! I have an almost 3 year old so thank you for posting this.
Thank you!
What a great idea! My kiddos are all grown up but a good one for my granddaughter. Thank you for the tips!
Thank you!