Chores for 7 Year Olds: A Realistic List + Printable

The chores a 7 year old can really do, from making the bed to packing lunch, based on AAP and AACAP guidance. Free printable chore chart included.

It's ten past seven on a school morning. Your seven-year-old is dressed, mostly. Their bed looks like a storm passed through, the cereal bowl is still on the table, and the school bag is somewhere under a coat. None of this is a crisis. It's a sign that seven is exactly the age to hand over a few real jobs, because a child who can read a chapter book can also learn to clear a bowl and pack a bag.

This guide lists the chores a seven-year-old can realistically do, where that list comes from, how many to start with, and how to keep it going past week two. There's a free printable chart further down.

Printable chore chart for a 7 year old with daily chores like making the bed, setting the table and packing lunch, plus weekly chores like sorting laundry and dusting

What a 7 year old can do (and why)

Seven is a turning point. Children at this age can follow a few steps in a row, remember a routine without being told every day, and they usually like being trusted with something "grown up". Their hands are steady enough for a cloth, a broom or a stack of plates, but they still need an adult for heat, sharp knives and anything heavy.

Two medical bodies publish age lists we lean on:

So a seven-year-old sits right where those two lists meet. They can do everything from the 5 to 7 list, and they are ready to start on the dishwasher and their own lunch.

The list: chores for a 7 year old

Here's the full set, grouped the way a family day actually runs. You don't need all of them. Pick a few from different groups.

Their own things

Kitchen and meals

Around the house

Pets, plants and outdoors

Daily routine

Brushing teeth, a bath or shower, brushing hair and laying out tomorrow's clothes aren't chores in the classic sense. They are still the tasks Raccoon parents add most often for this age, and they are where a lot of morning stress comes from. Counting them as "jobs" for a few weeks is a good way to turn them into habits.

How many chores should a 7 year old have?

Less than you think. The AAP's advice for this age is to avoid overloading children while still giving them a real share of the work, and to expect progress, not perfection (HealthyChildren.org).

A setup that works for most families:

  1. Two or three daily chores. Short and tied to a moment in the day: make the bed after getting dressed, clear the plate after dinner, pack the bag before bed.
  2. One or two weekly chores. A bigger job on a set day: sort the laundry on Saturday, dust the shelves on Sunday.
  3. One "learning" chore. Something new that you do together for a few weeks, like loading the dishwasher, until they can do it alone.

When a chore has run smoothly for a month, add the next one. If the whole system starts wobbling, cut back instead of adding reminders.

Making it stick past week two

Seven-year-olds start strong and then fade, which is normal. Both the AAP and the AACAP point at the same few habits that keep chores going:

There's also a longer-term reason to keep going. A 2022 study of 207 children aged 5 to 13 found that kids who did more self-care and family-care chores (making a meal for themselves or for someone else, for example) scored better on working memory and self-control, even after accounting for age. It's one survey of parents and can't show that chores cause the difference, but it matches what many parents see (Tepper, Howell and Bennett, 2022).

Chores for 7 year olds to earn money

Many parents search for this, and there's no single right answer. Two approaches work:

For a sense of scale, the kids' money app Greenlight reported that children aged 5 to 8 using its app received about $6.66 a week in allowance in 2025 (Greenlight). That's one company's customer data, not a national average, so treat it as a rough reference. Our guide on allowance for chores goes deeper into amounts and rules.

How Raccoon fits in

Raccoon Kids is a chore app for families: parents set up chores with a coin value, children check them off, and a photo of the finished job can be sent for approval. Children save their coins and trade them for rewards you define, from screen time to a movie night. The age-based presets in the app are built from the same research as this list, so the chores above are one tap away when you set up a seven-year-old.

You don't need an app to use this list. The printable chart above works on the fridge. If you prefer a digital chart that reminds everyone and keeps score, you can try Raccoon for free.

Other ages

Chores grow with your child. For the full picture from toddlers to teens, see our chore chart by age. If motivation is the problem rather than the list, start with how to get kids to do chores.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

What chores can a 7 year old do?
Most 7 year olds can make their bed, set and clear the table, wipe the table, sort and put away laundry, sweep, dust, feed a pet, water plants, empty wastebaskets and pack their own lunch. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry both list these for children around this age. Start with a few and add more once they are routine.
How many chores should a 7 year old have?
Three to five regular chores is plenty for most 7 year olds: two or three small daily ones, like making the bed and clearing their plate, plus one or two weekly jobs, like sorting laundry. A short list done every day teaches more than a long list done now and then.
Should I pay my 7 year old for chores?
Families do it both ways. Some keep everyday chores unpaid because everyone helps at home, and pay only for extra jobs. Others link chores to points or pocket money. Either works if the rule is clear and stays the same. What matters most is praising the effort, not the perfect result.
Can a 7 year old load the dishwasher?
Yes, with some teaching. The AACAP lists loading and unloading the dishwasher for ages 7 to 9. Keep sharp knives and heavy pots for an adult, and show where each item goes the first few times.

Keep reading

Resources

Free Chore Chart by Age: The Complete Age-Appropriate Chore List (2026)

A free, age-by-age chore chart for kids from toddlers to teens. See exactly which chores are appropriate at each age, then print it or use it to set up a digital version.

Guides

How Chores Teach Kids Responsibility (Age-by-Age, No Lectures)

How to teach kids responsibility through chores: what ownership looks like at each age, why doing tasks for them backfires, and a ladder that builds real capability.

Guides

The School-Morning Routine That Ends the 7 a.m. Scramble

A morning routine for kids that actually survives a school day: age-by-age checklists, night-before prep, and sample timings that end the daily scramble.