Chore List Ideas for Age 16 Plus

Although teens today often struggle with full schedules in much the same way as adults, it benefits the entire family when even teenagers over age 16 contribute to the family by completing daily or weekly chores. A child or teenager helping with chores helps a family run more smoothly. It also helps children and teenagers develop skills that will help them as they enter into adulthood. Make sure your chore list is reasonable and does not overburden your older teenager, especially if your teen has outside activities that take up time.

  1. Basic Chores

    • Require older teenagers to clean up after themselves when they make messes in common areas of the house. If a teenager dirties dishes, ask the teenager to either wash the dishes or rinse them and place them in the dishwasher. If a teenager makes messes in the bathroom during personal grooming and showering, require that the teenager clean up the messes and leave the bathroom in the same condition it was in originally. Ask a teenager to clean up general messes made in common areas of the home.

    Personal Chores

    • Expect an older teenager to keep personal spaces such as bedrooms neat and orderly. A teenager should pick up dirty clothes and put them into a laundry hamper. A teenager should fold and put away clean clothes. A teenager should not leave dirty dishes or other debris to accumulate in a bedroom. If it suits a family, teach older teenagers how to wash their own laundry, and expect the teens to wash and dry their own laundry.

    Outside Chores

    • Give older teenagers chores that help upkeep the outside areas of the family home. Mowing and trimming the lawn every week is a suitable job for many teenagers. If you have a garden, ask your teenager to help with upkeep of the garden by weeding and tending the vegetables. Yard clean up in the spring and raking fallen leaves in the fall are tasks that most teenagers would be capable of completing. If snow accumulates in the winter, teenagers can be helpful in removing snow using either a shovel or a snow blower. Maintaining a garage by keeping it neat might also be a task for an older teenager.

    Younger Siblings

    • If the situation arises, parents may ask older teenagers to care for younger siblings from time to time. This can be an excellent way to instill responsibility in the teen and foster bonding between siblings.

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