How to Help Kids Get Morning Chores Done

August 3, 2026

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My approach to motherhood definitely changed with the expectancy and birth of my latest child. Quickly, I realized that I could not do everything for my children, and a letting go process began. This process has grown both my children and me, and I want to share some wonderful results that came out of some rather desperate times.

While I have been teaching and training my children in the ways of household duties for years, we all changed and shifted during the time of baby’s birth. Slowly, I began to more thoroughly understand my role as a manager and not just a worker bee. As I gained skill in guiding and managing my children’s efforts in our home, their capabilities and confidence grew simultaneously alongside my growth as an overseer.

Today I want to share something profoundly simple with you—the Morning List. If you are wondering how to help kids get morning chores done, the Morning List is one of the simplest and most effective means.

The Morning List is not fancy or complicated.

The Morning List is completely customizable to any child.

The Morning List can be changed at any time.

The Morning List is an objective standard that quells arguments.

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Why I Started the Morning List

Getting my kids to not only remember but do their morning responsibilities became quite the chore in itself.

One desperate night after feeling rather defeated in my mothering, I grabbed several sheets of notebook paper and a pencil and instantly the Morning List was born.

I had been talking to my husband about growth that needed to take place in our children, and I knew something had to change. My children were capable of so much more than I had expected from them—I simply needed an easy way to convey my expectations without constantly nagging them.

What is the Morning List

I almost feel embarrassed writing a whole post about the Morning List because it is that simple.

What we call “The Morning List” is simply a list of personalized morning duties for each child. For each child, I handwrote on a sheet of notebook paper what I expected that child to do each morning. I slipped the notebook paper into a clear plastic sleeve and then laid out a dry erase marker for the child to cross out completed duties.

For my oldest child, here are her morning duties:

Get dressed

Make bed

Pick up clothes

Water plants

Practice music

Get waters for the children

Start laundry

Sweep the living room

Wipe the kitchen table (after breakfast)

On Wednesday, gather trash downstairs

Brush teeth/ clean bathroom counters (T/Th)

For my next child, here are his duties:

Get dressed

Make bed

Pick up clothes

Water plants

Make ice (yup, we don't have an icemaker...hehe)

Put away silverware

Move laundry to dryer

Sweep the kitchen

Wipe kitchen chairs (after breakfast)

On Wednesday, gather trash upstairs

Brush teeth/clean bathroom counters (MWF)

These lists probably sound like a lot of duties, but my kids have grown into them. And honestly, we do not get every single duty done every single day. But it's a worthy goal to strive towards!

How to use the Morning List

The more disciplined I am about the morning lists, the better my children do. When I remember to put the lists out and gently speak reminders to "do your morning lists," we have the greatest success.

Every night before bed, I set out my children’s Morning Lists on the table at their respective table spots. I also lay out a dry erase marker (to check off when a job is completed) and a magic eraser (these work perfectly for erasing when all the jobs are done) for their use.

I have found that the mornings that I neglect to set out my children’s Morning Lists, they think that they do not have to complete their lists. Magically, their duties have disappeared (or so they think…wink, wink). By laying out my children’s lists for them, I am setting the stage for chore success.

Consistency is key. If I want the concept of a Morning List to work, I need to do it every single day.

Perfection is not the goal. There are some days we do not complete everything. That’s okay. We made efforts, and the house is all the better for it and my children’s work ethic is all the stronger from it.

What to put on the Morning List

First, I would recommend that you sit down and make a list of everything that needs to happen in your household in the morning. Then think through all of those tasks and who the owners of those tasks should be.

I would recommend assigning tasks based on ability, experience, and even strength. For example, it is difficult (and somewhat dangerous) for our children to open our heavy chicken coop door, so that is one of my morning tasks. On the other hand, my kids are fully capable of operating a garden hose, so they help water the potted plants on the patio and side of the house.

If you think I dress up to feed the chickens every morning, I hope you have a good laugh right now! Most mornings, I am in my pjs or workout clothes.

You know your children best and know what they are capable of accomplishing. I will say that children are often capable of so much more than we give them credit. Stretch their skills, mama, and stretch your own ability to let go of perfection and let your children do for themselves and others—that includes doing for you!

I would recommend starting simple. I would not overload children if this is a new concept but would start with basic tasks they are already doing and then add one more task to stretch them. Once they have mastered those tasks, add another task. Pretty soon, your children will be capable of a pretty impressive list of responsibilities.

Once younger children are capable of more, pass off tasks from older children down to the younger. Then introduce new tasks to the older children.

What if My Child Will Not Comply with a Morning List

One of the greatest challenges and roles of parenting is motivating our children towards doing what is right or as my husband simply puts it, “Doing your duty.” You will often hear my husband and me lovingly saying to our children, “Do your duty.”

We are not unkind to remind our children of their duties, but rather we are constantly setting before them their God-given roles as children to obey and fulfill what is expected of them.

Honestly, when I first started the Morning List, it was not met with excited enthusiasm. In fact, it was a challenge to get one of my children to mark completed duties off the list. Lest you think that my house is perfectly run with robotic children who cheerfully complete their lists every single day, let me set that unrealistic idea to rest.

So how do I get my children to complete their lists? Well, simply put, we reward our children with an allowance for completing their lists (perhaps a post for another day). My husband and I try to keep it positive for doing duties, but there are consequences in our house for disobedience.

I will say that the more we did our morning lists, the easier it got. Once my children realized that mom means business and we are not progressing through our day until the list is done, they “got down to it.” Now the lists are just second nature, and after gentle prompting from me, the children can complete their lists mostly on their own. 

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If you have read this far into the post, I am humbly grateful for sticking with me. I know this was long, but for the parent or guardian who struggles to know how to get children going in the morning, I hope this post was a help. Please let me know if you have any other ideas for helping children with their morning duties! What worked for your family?

Have a wonderful week fulfilling your God-given duties with joy.

-Ashley

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