Chores for 10-Year-Olds: 25 Jobs They Can Do Without Reminders

Ten is a sweet spot for chores. Your child is old enough to do real jobs properly and still young enough to like being trusted with them. Below are 25 chores a 10-year-old can own from start to finish, a sample week with points, and a short method for getting them done without you saying "Did you feed the dog?" every evening.

What a 10-year-old is ready for

By 10, most kids can follow a job with several steps, work on their own for half an hour, and tell when something is actually done rather than "kind of done." They can use the dishwasher, the washing machine and a vacuum safely, and many can cook simple food at the stove while an adult is in the kitchen.

What's still developing is the planning side. A 10-year-old can clean a bathroom sink well, but may not remember on their own that it's Saturday and the sink is waiting. That's why "without reminders" is something you build with a system, not something you wait for.

These chores fit boys and girls equally, and they work the same whether you call it taking out the trash or taking the bins out. If you have younger kids too, our list of age-appropriate chores for kids covers every age from 2 up.

25 chores for 10-year-olds

Kitchen

1. Unload the dishwasher completely, glasses included (sharp knives go to a parent).
2. Load the dishwasher after dinner and start it.
3. Wipe the table and counters after meals.
4. Pack their own school lunch the night before.
5. Make a simple breakfast for themselves, like toast, eggs or oatmeal.
6. Cook a simple meal with an adult nearby: quesadillas, pasta with sauce, grilled cheese.
7. Put groceries away after a shopping trip.

Laundry and bedroom

1. Carry their dirty laundry to the machine and sort it by color.
2. Fold and put away their own clean clothes.
3. Change their bed sheets every week or two.
4. Tidy their room to a short checklist: floor clear, desk clear, bed made.
5. Pack their own sports or activity bag.

Bathroom

1. Clean the bathroom sink and faucet.
2. Clean the toilet with a brush and spray.
3. Wipe the mirror and replace the hand towel.
4. Refill toilet paper and soap when they run low.

Around the house

1. Vacuum one or two rooms.
2. Sweep the kitchen floor after dinner.
3. Empty every small trash can into the main bin.
4. Take the trash and recycling to the curb on pickup day.
5. Dust the living room shelves and TV stand.

Outside, pets and people

1. Wash the family car with a parent.
2. Rake leaves, pull weeds or water the garden.
3. Feed, walk or groom a pet, or scoop the litter box.
4. Help a younger sibling get ready, like finding shoes or reading them a bedtime story.

Not every family needs all 25. Pick the ones that match your home, and drop anything that doesn't apply (no lawn, no pet, no dishwasher).

A sample week for a 10-year-old

Here is one way to spread the jobs out so the load stays near 30 minutes a day. Points follow a simple scale: 5 for a small job, 10 for a medium one, 20 for a big one, and 2 extra when it's done without a reminder.

That's roughly 180 points in a week before bonuses. If you link points to rewards, a small reward like 15 extra minutes of screen time at 30 to 50 points lands every 2 to 3 days, which keeps a 10-year-old interested.

How to get chores done without reminders

"Without reminders" doesn't mean your child suddenly remembers everything. It means the reminder lives somewhere other than your mouth. Here's a setup that usually gets there in a few weeks.

1. Teach each job to a clear standard. Show it, do it together, watch them do it, then let them work alone. Skipping this step is why so many jobs come back half done.
2. Write one line of "done means" for each job. "Bathroom sink done means no toothpaste, dry faucet, towel hung up."
3. Tie every daily job to an anchor that already happens: feed the dog when you get home from school, unload the dishwasher before screen time, pack lunch right after dinner.
4. Put the list where they'll see it at that moment, on the fridge or on their own phone.
5. Agree on one reminder only. After that, the job simply isn't checked off, and it shows.
6. Reward the independence, not only the job. The 2-point bonus for no reminder tells a 10-year-old exactly what you value.
7. Review on Sunday, briefly. "You did everything without reminders four days this week. Which job was hardest?"

Give it 2 to 3 weeks before you decide it isn't working. If one chore keeps slipping, move its anchor rather than adding more nagging. For more on the talking side, see how to get kids to do chores without nagging.

When a 10-year-old pushes back

Some pushback is normal at this age, and it often has a fair point behind it. If your child complains that a younger sibling does less, explain that bigger kids get bigger jobs and more points, then show them the math. If they hate one chore, let them trade it for another of the same size once a month. If the complaint is time, look at the week: sports nights may need a lighter load, with the weekly job moved to the weekend.

What helps most is letting them own something completely. A 10-year-old who is "in charge of the recycling" tends to do it better than one who is told to take it out.

Running the list in Famiyo

Famiyo is a free family app for iPhone and Android that combines a shared family calendar, chores with points and a rewards shop; kids join with a code, no email needed. Your 10-year-old joins on their own phone with a 6-character code, gets a notification when you add a new task, and checks jobs off themselves if you allow it. You see every child's chores for today with points earned, and get a notification when a job is done. The same task can be worth different points for different kids, so unloading the dishwasher can pay more for your 10-year-old than for a 6-year-old helper. For other options, see our list of the best chore apps for kids.

Start with three chores from the list and one anchor time for each. Add the weekly job once those three run on their own.