By fifteen, your teenager can probably do every job in your house, and some of them better than you. The challenge isn't ability any more. It's time and motivation, squeezed between school, sports, friends and maybe a first job. That's exactly why chores still matter at this age: in a few years they'll be doing all of this alone, and practicing now is a lot less stressful than learning it in a first apartment with a smoke alarm going off.
Here's a realistic chore list for teenagers aged 15 to 17, what the pediatric guidance says, and a free printable chart.
What teens can (and should) do
The American Academy of Pediatrics' guide to household chores for teens lists vacuuming shared spaces, washing and vacuuming the car, mowing, mulching and weeding, clearing walkways of snow, grocery shopping once they have their driver's license, cleaning the kitchen after meal prep, pet care and helping with younger siblings. The same guide notes that many teens take on part-time work after 16, and that this shouldn't replace their household responsibilities (HealthyChildren.org, AAP).
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry adds grocery shopping and running errands for teens (AACAP Facts for Families No. 125).
The list: chores for teenagers (15 to 17)
Running their own life
- Their laundry, start to finish
- Changing their sheets
- Their room, their schedule, their appointments
Food
- Cooking dinner for the family once a week
- Cleaning the kitchen after meals
- Helping with the weekly grocery shopping, or doing it alone once they drive
Home
- Cleaning a bathroom
- Vacuuming shared rooms
- Trash and recycling
Outdoors and family
- Mowing (a ride-on mower from 16 per AAP guidance), yard work, clearing snow
- Washing the car, especially if they use it
- Pet care
- Helping younger siblings, running errands
You'll find these chores on the printable chart at the top of this page. Download it as is or customize it first.
Fitting chores around school and work
Teenagers' schedules change from week to week, so a rigid daily list rarely survives. What works better:
- A few core responsibilities that never change. Their laundry, the kitchen on agreed nights, one weekly cleaning job.
- Flexibility on the "when". "The bathroom gets done by Sunday evening" works better than "Saturday at 10".
- One family meal a week. Planning, shopping and cooking one dinner is one of the most valuable life skills they can practice before moving out.
- Lighter load during exams or a new job. Talk about it openly and adjust, instead of letting everything slide.
The AAP's advice about part-time jobs applies here: work is great, but it's not a replacement for being part of the household.
A sample week with a part-time job
Here's how a sixteen-year-old with school, two weekday shifts and a Saturday shift might fit the core jobs from the list:
- Monday: cook the family dinner. They plan it on Sunday and add what they need to the shopping list.
- Tuesday and Thursday: work shifts, so no chores those nights.
- Wednesday: the kitchen after dinner, and trash and recycling out if pickup is Thursday.
- Friday: their laundry, started after school and finished before they go out.
- Sunday: the bathroom by evening, any yard work or snow, and their sheets every other week.
That's about half of the full list. Vacuuming, the car and errands can move to school breaks or a lighter week. When the shifts change, sit down for five minutes and move the jobs, rather than letting them fall away.
Keeping teens on board
- Treat it as adult-to-adult. Ask what they think is fair, and agree on the list together.
- Link responsibility and freedom. More independence (car keys, later curfew) comes with more household responsibility.
- Accept their way of doing things. If the result is good, the method is theirs.
- Say thank you. It sounds small. Teens who feel their contribution is noticed are much more likely to keep it up.
When a teenager pushes back
At fifteen to seventeen the arguments get better. Your answers can too.
- "I have a job now." Great, and it's worth saying so. Then point to the AAP's view that work shouldn't replace home responsibilities, and agree on a shorter core list that fits their shifts, like their laundry and one kitchen night.
- "I'm moving out soon anyway." That's exactly the point. "Soon you'll do all of this without me. Let's make sure you can."
- "None of my friends have to do this." You don't need to win this one. "Maybe. In this house, everyone who lives here helps."
- "Can I just pay someone?" For a sibling trade they both agree on, sure. The core jobs that teach life skills, like cooking and laundry, stay theirs.
- Constant "later". Deadlines only work if they hold. If a job slips past the one you agreed on, talk about it once, calmly, and tie it to the freedoms that come with responsibility, like the car keys on Friday night.
Before they move out: a life-skills check
A few months before a teen leaves home is a bad time to discover they've never cleaned a bathroom. Go through this list together around fifteen or sixteen and ask one question for each item: can they do it alone, without asking you?
- Laundry: sort, wash, dry and fold their own clothes, and change their sheets on a schedule.
- Food: plan a dinner, shop for it, cook it and clean the kitchen afterwards.
- Groceries: do the weekly shop from a list, alone, once they drive.
- Cleaning: clean a bathroom, vacuum a room and take out trash and recycling on the right day.
- Their own life: keep their own schedule and appointments without reminders.
- Car and outdoors: wash the car, handle the yard or clear snow if your home has them.
- Errands: run a short errand for the family and come back with the right thing.
Anything they can't do alone yet becomes next term's chore. Anything they can do goes on their list as a regular job, so it stays practiced. For more on why this matters, see how chores teach kids responsibility.
Money and chores for teens
Many families change the money rules in the teenage years. Everyday chores become simply part of living at home, and money comes from bigger jobs or from outside work. Others keep a points or allowance system because it helps teens learn to budget.
As a reference, Greenlight reported that 17-year-olds using its app received about $21.47 a week in allowance in 2025 (Greenlight). That's one company's customer data, not a national figure. See allowance for chores for more on amounts and rules.
How Raccoon fits in
Raccoon Kids works on your teen's own phone: chores with coin values, a photo when a job is done, approval from anywhere, and rewards you agree on, from a later curfew to extra money. The age-based presets are built from the same research as this page.
Plenty of families with teens use a simple shared list instead, and that's fine. If an app suits yours, try Raccoon for free.
Other ages
See chores for 13 year olds, chores for 14 year olds, or the full chore chart by age.
Sources
- American Academy of Pediatrics, Household Chores for Teens, HealthyChildren.org, Shelly Vaziri Flais, MD, FAAP, 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.