At twelve, the question shifts from "can they do it?" to "will they do it without being asked?". Most twelve-year-olds are physically capable of nearly every job in the house. What they're still building is the habit of noticing what needs doing, and the willingness to do it before a parent brings it up. The right chores at this age are less about the tasks themselves and more about practicing that grown-up habit.
Below: what twelve-year-olds can take on, what the guidance says, how to handle pushback, and a free printable chart.
What a 12 year old can handle
Twelve is where the child lists end and the teenage ones begin:
- The American Academy of Pediatrics' list for ages 11 to 12 includes cleaning the kitchen, changing bedsheets, unloading the dishwasher, doing and folding laundry, scrubbing toilets and cleaning the bathroom, washing the car, cooking a simple meal with supervision, and watching younger siblings with an adult present at home (HealthyChildren.org, AAP).
- The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry says those 12 and above can wash the car and help out with younger siblings, and teens can help with grocery shopping and running errands (AACAP Facts for Families No. 125).
- Twelve is also the AAP's minimum age for a walk-behind lawn mower (HealthyChildren.org).
The list: chores for a 12 year old
Their own life
- Do their own laundry and put it away
- Change their sheets every other week
- Keep their room in order
- Manage homework and the school bag without reminders
Kitchen
- Clean the kitchen after dinner
- Load and unload the dishwasher
- Cook a simple meal once a week, with you nearby
- Put the groceries away
Cleaning
- Clean the bathroom
- Vacuum shared rooms
- Take out the trash and recycling
Family and outdoors
- Help with the grocery shopping
- Wash the car
- Mow the lawn with a walk-behind mower, after proper instruction
- Rake, weed, and in winter help clear snow
- Walk the dog
You'll find these chores on the printable chart at the top of this page. Download it as is or customize it first.
From tasks to ownership
A twelve-year-old's list works best when it gives them responsibility for outcomes, not a checklist of motions:
- "The kitchen is yours after dinner" instead of "wipe the counter and load the dishwasher".
- "You're in charge of your laundry" instead of "put your clothes in the basket".
- "The lawn is your summer job" instead of "help your dad with the lawn".
Five or six chores in total is realistic alongside school and activities. Agree on the standard once ("clean kitchen means counters wiped, sink empty, dishwasher running") and then step back.
A sample week for a 12 year old
Here's one way a normal week can look around school, homework and a couple of practices, using only jobs from the list:
- Every day: homework and the school bag without reminders, plus the kitchen after dinner on the nights they're home. On a late practice night, the kitchen moves to a parent or sibling and they take a night later in the week.
- On trash day: trash and recycling out the evening before pickup.
- Thursday: vacuum the shared rooms.
- Saturday: their laundry, and the bathroom while the washer runs.
- Sunday: the simple weekly meal, with you nearby.
In summer, mowing replaces the vacuuming and the lawn becomes their big weekend job. In winter, help with the snow comes in when it's needed. The list changes with the seasons, but the number of jobs stays about the same.
How to teach a 12 year old to cook a simple meal
The AAP puts cooking a simple meal with supervision in the 11 to 12 list, and twelve is a good age to make it a real weekly job. A step-by-step way in:
- Pick one meal they actually like. Pasta with sauce, scrambled eggs with toast, or quesadillas. Keep it the same for three or four weeks so they can get good at it.
- Cook it together once. You lead, they measure, stir and watch. Talk through the parts that matter: pot handles turned inward, oven mitts, and turning the burner off when they're done.
- Swap roles. Next time they cook and you stay in the kitchen, helping only when asked.
- Step back, but stay close. Once it goes smoothly, you can be in the next room. Nearby is still the rule at this age.
- Count the clean-up as part of the meal. Pans soaking, counter wiped, stove off. That ties straight into the kitchen job they already own.
- Add one new thing. A side salad, a second recipe, or writing the shopping list for their meal, which pairs well with helping at the grocery store.
Expect some burnt toast. A family that eats the slightly overcooked pasta without comment teaches more than a perfect meal would.
When a 12 year old pushes back
Resistance is normal at this age and usually not about the chore. What helps:
- Keep it predictable. Same chores, same days. Negotiation thrives on vagueness.
- Link chores to privileges, calmly. "Kitchen's done, then screen time" works better than lectures.
- Offer choice within limits. "You can take the bathroom or the vacuuming this week."
- Skip the redo. If the result is good enough, accept it. If it isn't, show once what's missing.
- Answer "it's not fair" with the lists. When a younger sibling seems to get off easy, show both lists side by side. Older kids get bigger jobs, and bigger privileges too. Rotating shared jobs like the trash or the dishwasher every week keeps the "always me" complaint from sticking.
- Allow trades. If two siblings want to swap a job and both get done, let them. Working out a fair trade is practice for sharing a home later.
- Look deeper if it's constant. The AACAP notes that if a child can't or won't do chores and the struggle continues or gets worse, it may point to other conflicts, and suggests talking to your pediatrician.
Chores for 12 year olds to earn money
Twelve-year-olds often want real spending money. Two models that work:
- Base chores are part of family life, extra jobs pay. Washing the car or mowing the lawn can earn money, while the kitchen clean-up and their laundry stay unpaid.
- Earn points, trade for rewards or money. Chores earn points that convert into pocket money or privileges they value, like a later curfew on weekends.
For a sense of scale, Greenlight reported that kids aged 12 to 19 using its app received about $18.11 a week in allowance in 2025, rising with age (Greenlight). That's one company's customer data, not a national average. Our guide on allowance for chores goes deeper.
How Raccoon fits in
Raccoon Kids tracks chores, coins and rewards in one place. Your twelve-year-old checks jobs off on their own phone or tablet, can add a photo as proof, and trades coins for rewards you agree on. The age-based presets are built from the same research as this page.
A printed chart works well too. If you'd like the tracking done for you, try Raccoon for free.
Other ages
See chores for 11 year olds, chores for 13 year olds, or the full chore chart by age.
Sources
- American Academy of Pediatrics, Age-Appropriate Chores for Children, HealthyChildren.org, adapted from Caring for Your School-Age Child: Ages 5 to 12, updated February 2024.
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Chores and Children, Facts for Families No. 125, updated June 2018.
- American Academy of Pediatrics, Lawn Mower Safety: Information for Families, HealthyChildren.org.
- Greenlight, Average weekly allowance by age, company data for 2025.