How many chores should a 9-year-old have?

Three to four daily tasks plus one bigger weekly job is a good rule. Together they should take 20 to 30 minutes a day. If chores are a daily fight, the list is probably too long or the finish line is unclear.

Should a 9-year-old get paid for chores?

Keep everyday jobs unpaid, since they are part of living in the family. A small amount or points can reward extra jobs, such as washing the car or raking the yard. Typical weekly allowance at ages 8 to 10 is $7 to $10.

Are the chores different for 9-year-old girls and boys?

No. The same list applies to every 9-year-old. Ability depends on the child, not on gender, and a kid who learns to cook, fold and mow at this age is better prepared for adult life, whoever they are.

What chores can a 9-year-old do in the UK?

The same ones, with different words: take out the bins, hoover a room, put the washing on the airer, load the dishwasher, feed the pet. Weekly bin day and a Sunday room reset suit many UK households.

Chores for 9-Year-Olds: 25 Jobs Kids Can Fully Own

At 9, most kids have outgrown "helping" and are ready to own a job. Own means they know what done looks like, do it without a reminder, and feel a little proud when it is finished. This list has 25 chores grouped by area of the house, with timing and points so you can drop them straight into a weekly plan.

How much can a 9-year-old really do?

More than you might think, and for longer. Kids of this age can usually handle 20 to 30 minutes of chores a day. A common pattern is three or four daily tasks and one bigger weekly job. That is the rule from age 8, so if your child is coming from the chores for 8-year-olds, most of the jobs below will feel familiar, only with fewer reminders.

The jump at 9 is about ownership. A 7-year-old helps load the dishwasher. A 9-year-old is the person who loads it, runs it and empties it. You are still around, but you are not supervising each step.

Here is a sensible points scale, using the Famiyo defaults: 5 points for a small task of 2 to 5 minutes, 10 for a medium task of 10 to 15 minutes, 20 for a big one of 30 minutes or more, and 2 bonus points when it is done without a reminder.

Kitchen jobs

Chore	What done looks like	Points
Load the dishwasher after dinner	Plates, cups and cutlery in, nothing blocking the spray	10
Empty the dishwasher	Everything in its cupboard, knives left for an adult	10
Set the table	Plates, cutlery, napkins and drinks for everyone	5
Wipe the table and counters	Crumbs gone, cloth rinsed	5
Make a simple snack or lunch	A sandwich, a fruit plate or scrambled eggs with an adult nearby	10
Take out the trash	New bag in, old bag in the outside bin	5
Put away the groceries	Everything on the right shelf, bags folded	10

Laundry and bedroom jobs

Chore	What done looks like	Points
Fold and put away their own laundry	Clothes in drawers, nothing left in the basket	10
Sort the family's laundry by color	Lights, darks and towels in separate piles	5
Make their bed	Sheet and blanket flat, pillow on top	5
Tidy their room	Floor clear, clothes in the hamper, toys in their place	10
Change their own sheets (with help)	Old sheets in the hamper, fresh ones on	20
Pack their school bag the night before	Homework, water bottle and shoes by the door	5

Cleaning jobs

Chore	What done looks like	Points
Vacuum one room	Whole floor done, cord put away	10
Clean the bathroom sink and mirror	No toothpaste splashes, mirror streak-free	10
Dust the living room	Shelves and tables wiped, nothing knocked over	10
Sweep or mop the kitchen floor	Corners included, wet floor sign out of mind	10
Empty the small bins in the house	Bathroom and bedroom bins into one bag	5

Outdoor and pet jobs

Chore	What done looks like	Points
Feed the pet and fill the water	Right amount, bowl clean	5
Walk the dog (with an adult or in a safe area)	Back home on time, leash hung up	10
Water the garden or the plants	Every plant checked, can refilled	5
Rake leaves or pick up sticks	Marked area clear, bags tied	20
Wash the car	Outside rinsed, soaped and dried	20

Helping the family

Chore	What done looks like	Points
Help a younger sibling with their jobs	Shows them once, checks the end	10
Plan and help make one family dinner a week	Picks the meal, preps with an adult	20
Return library books or recycling	Back where they belong	5

That is 25. You will not use all of them. Pick three or four for every day and one bigger one for the weekend, then rotate the rest in. For more of the same shape at this age, see our guide to chores for tweens (ages 9 to 12).

Girls and boys, and the UK

The list above is the same for every 9-year-old. Cooking, laundry and lawn work are life skills, and the sooner every child learns them, the fewer arguments you have at 14. For UK readers, the jobs are identical with a few word swaps: bins instead of trash, hoover instead of vacuum, the washing on the airer instead of the dryer. If your house has a weekly bin day, make it your child's job. They will never forget it.

Teaching a job so it sticks

Kids rarely do a chore badly on purpose. Usually nobody showed them what finished looks like. For each new job:

Do it while they watch, and say each step out loud.
Do it together, with your child doing a little more each time.
Let them do it alone and check the result, not the method.
Say one specific thing you liked: "The corners are clean" works better than "good job".

Write down what finished means in one line. "Clean your room" is vague. "Clothes in the hamper, toys in the bins, bed made" is a finish line.

Fitting chores into the week

Attach each job to a moment that already exists. Dishwasher after dinner, school bag before the evening show, trash on bin night. Those anchors do half the reminding. If your family is juggling several kids, a written chore schedule for kids keeps it fair. For a messy bedroom, see how to get kids to clean their room.

Giving each child their own 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. You add each chore once, set it to repeat, pick the child and give it points, and the same task can be worth a different number of points to each child.

A 9-year-old checks off their own jobs on their own phone, or you approve them, and you get a notification when something is done.

Famiyo Daily Chores screen showing each child's points and today's tasks — Today's chores for every child, with points earned so far

Points go toward rewards you set up in the shop. For a look at the field, see the best chore apps for kids.

Start with three

Choose three daily jobs from the tables and one weekly job, write down what finished looks like for each, and run them for two weeks before changing anything. Most kids need that long to stop noticing the list.