Toddlers are the only people who get genuinely excited about laundry. Hand a two-year-old a sock and ask them to put it in the basket, and you'll get a proud face, a sock that lands next to the basket, and a request to do it again. It's not efficient. It is the very first step of a child seeing themselves as someone who helps at home, and that's worth encouraging long before chores feel "useful".
Here's what two- and three-year-olds can really do, the guidance behind it, and a picture chart you can print.
What toddlers can do
Two- and three-year-olds can follow a one-step instruction, carry small light things and copy what they see you do. Their "chores" are really joint activities with you.
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry says 2 to 3 year olds can put toys and groceries away and dress themselves with help, and that research suggests there are benefits to including chores in a child's routine as early as age 3 (AACAP Facts for Families No. 125). For younger children, it recommends small, manageable tasks and making longer jobs fun and cooperative with songs or games.
Naître et grandir, a parenting resource from Quebec whose pages are reviewed by a psychoeducator, goes into more detail for 18 months to 3 years: helping set the table with just their own plate, cup and cutlery, putting toys away with help, finding matching socks, folding washcloths, putting boots or shoes by the front door, wiping up a small spill, putting their dirty clothes in the laundry basket, washing vegetables and putting books on a low shelf (Naître et grandir, in French, updated February 2026).
The list: chores for 2 and 3 year olds
Tidying
- Put toys in a basket or box
- Put books back on a low shelf
- Bring their shoes to the door
Laundry
- Put dirty clothes in the laundry basket
- Find the matching socks (a great game)
Kitchen
- Help put unbreakable groceries away
- Carry their own plate or cup to the counter
- Put their own plate and spoon on the table
Getting ready
- Get dressed with help
- Brush teeth with you
You'll find these chores on the printable chart at the top of this page. Download it as is or customize it first.
How to make toddler chores work
- Do it together, every time. At this age, "chores" means doing it alongside you.
- One step at a time. "Put the teddy in the basket" works. "Tidy your room" doesn't.
- Use songs and games. Tidy-up songs, races and counting turn a job into play, as the AACAP suggests.
- Accept the mess. A sock next to the basket still counts. Say thank you anyway.
- Keep it short. A minute or two per chore, tied to a routine like before bath or after a meal.
A day of tiny jobs
Toddler chores work best when they're attached to things that already happen every day. You don't need a schedule, just a few moments where the same small job shows up again and again. For a two- or three-year-old, a day might look like this:
- Morning: get dressed with help (you hold the shirt, they push their arms through), then brush teeth together.
- Before going out: bring their shoes to the door.
- After lunch: carry their own cup to the counter.
- After the shopping trip: hand them the unbreakable things, like a bag of pasta or a box of cereal, to put away while you do the rest.
- Before dinner: put their own plate and spoon on the table.
- Before bath: dirty clothes in the laundry basket, toys in their box.
- At bedtime: books back on the low shelf after the story.
That's more than enough for a whole day, and on most days you'll only get to some of it. That's fine. Repetition is what counts: the same job at the same moment, day after day, until one evening your toddler heads for the laundry basket before you've said a word. Notice it out loud when that happens. It's a big moment for a small person.
Turning jobs into games
Toddlers don't separate work from play, so there's no need to. A few ways to make the jobs above something they ask for:
- Feed the basket. Give the toy box a hungry voice. "The basket is so hungry. Can it have the red car?" Most two-year-olds will happily feed it everything on the floor.
- Sock detective. Tip the clean socks onto the bed and ask them to find the twins. It's a matching game that happens to sort laundry.
- Park the shoes. Their shoes are little cars, and the spot by the door is the garage.
- Count as you go. "One book, two books, three books on the shelf." Counting makes the end of the job visible.
- Swap roles. Let them be the boss for a minute: "Tell me where your spoon goes." Toddlers love being the one who knows.
Stop while it's still fun. A game that drags on turns into a chore in the bad sense, and you want your toddler to remember helping as something nice.
A picture chart for a child who can't read
Around three, some toddlers enjoy having a chart of their own. It has to work without a single word:
- One picture per job. A photo of your child putting toys in their own basket works even better than a drawing, because they recognize it instantly.
- Three or four pictures, no more. Pick the jobs from your day that happen most reliably.
- Hang it low. At their eye level, close to where the jobs happen.
- Let them mark it. A sticker, a magnet or a clothespin moved to the other side. Marking the job done is half the fun.
Plenty of two-year-olds won't care about a chart at all, and that's normal too. For them, the chart is you saying "look, you did it!"
When your toddler says no
"No" is one of a toddler's favorite words, and it's rarely about the chore itself. A few things that help:
- Offer a choice, not an order. "Do you want to carry the cup or the spoon?" Either answer means they're helping.
- Start it for them. Put the first toy in the basket yourself, then hand them the next one. "Your turn."
- Check the timing. A tired or hungry toddler can't help. Skip it and try again at the next moment.
- Let it go. "Okay, I'll do it this time. You can help tomorrow." Turning a sock into a battle teaches the opposite of what you want, and a relaxed "next time" keeps helping something they choose.
Rewards for toddlers
Toddlers don't need rewards to help. They help because they want to be like you. A warm "thank you, you're a great helper" is the best reward at two. Around three, some children enjoy a sticker on a picture chart, which is also a gentle first step toward the idea of earning something. Keep it small and immediate.
How Raccoon fits in
Raccoon Kids is rated 4+ in the App Store, so for toddlers a printed picture chart is the better fit. When your child is ready for more, the app's age-based presets pick up exactly where this list leaves off. You can try Raccoon for free whenever that time comes.
Next steps
See chores for 4 year olds for the next stage, or the full chore chart by age.
Sources
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Chores and Children, Facts for Families No. 125, updated June 2018.
- Naître et grandir, Faire participer les enfants aux tâches ménagères (in French), scientific review by Solène Bourque, psychoeducator, updated February 2026.