Chores are a necessary part of any household, and getting teenagers to do their share can be a challenge.

Parenting experts said the best way ensure that teenagers contribute is to imbue with them a sense of responsibility at an early age.

Chores By Age | Discuss Chores

Dr. Jon Gallo, coauthor of “The Financially Intelligent Parent,” suggested that parents give simple tasks to children as young as 3, such as putting their toys away, and then increasing chores as kids get older.

"You start long before they are teens," Gallo said.

"Setting these expectations early on will go a long way to ensuring teens continue to accept responsibility for helping out around the house," said Dr. Raymond Crowell, vice president of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services at the National Mental Health Association.

Gallo agreed, saying parents should treat chores as part of the responsibilities of being a member of the family.

Praise Works

Crowell advised motivating teens with earned privileges and praise.

"Like adults, teens don't just work for the money. Words or appreciation for a job done promptly and well go a long way to letting a teen know that their contribution is important and noticed by a parent," Crowell said.

Bob Lancer, a teen motivation expert and author of "Parenting With Love, Without Anger or Stress," said that if parents want to have responsible teenagers, they need to create a loving and harmonious household.

"You need to provide positive role-modeling -- demonstrate responsible action, a positive work ethic and place a high value on work and taking care of things," Lancer said.

Lancer suggested using a family meeting to decide on chore assignments and what privileges will be lost if the chores are not completed.

Consequences

Crowell said it's normal for teens to occasionally neglect or avoid chores. He said when this happens, parents need to discipline or renegotiate the list of chores.

"When all else fails, parents may consider limiting privileges, such as mall time or use of the telephone, until the chores are completed. It is important for the teen to know why the action is being taken, how long the restriction will last and what he or she can do differently to avoid a repeat occurrence," Crowell said.

Gallo advised parents to ground a child, but said an allowance shouldn't be tied to chores.

"I wouldn't take away allowances, because now you are teaching your child that money is something that is used to punish or reward you," Gallo said.

Carleton Kendrick, a family therapist and author of "Take Out Your Nose Ring, Honey, We're Going to Grandma's," said the consequences of not pulling one's weight in the family should be determined by the teen's attitude and should be specific to the chore.

"For example, if the teen does not wash and clean the family car, and that is his family chore, then he loses the privilege of using the family car for a short period of time," Kendrick said.

The trick to getting teens to be more responsible is simple -- give them more responsibilities around the house, said Dr. Susan Smith Kuczmarski, author of "The Sacred Flight of the Teenager: A Parent's Guide to Stepping Back and Letting Go."

Kuczmarski said older teens can do major chores around the house, such as helping with the cooking and taking care of a car.

"Self-sufficiency and responsibility-taking are learned from the common, daily mundane chores connected to their everyday lives," Kuczmarski said.

Lancer said another way to instill responsibility in teens is for parents to talk with teens to help them understand their potential.

"Help them find ways of expressing their gifts and talents in the service of others," Lancer said. "Human beings are contagious. If you lack positive belief in life, your child will pick up on your attitude and adopt it."

Several experts said it comes back to promoting responsibilities at a young age.

"You cannot start at the teen years. Helping children into self-sufficiency begins in infancy, and you gradually build up from there. If you are just getting started at the age of 13, you have a lot of ground to make up, but it can happen," Lancer said.