There is something about this picture that gets me thinking about Tom Sawyer. Okay, so this is a boy – my son to be exact – painting a wall and not a fence. Regardless, I love this picture. My son loves to work and do productive tasks around our house. Based on conversations I have had with other moms, I have realized that many moms today do not allow or expect their children to perform real chores around their homes. I do not understand this way of thinking. Why should children be excluded from contributing to the upkeep of the household? How are parents preparing their children for adult life if they are not equipping them with basic household skills?
This is something each family has to work out for itself, but I thought I would share several reasons why I think your children should be doing chores.
Doing chores teaches valuable skills. A mom recently told me that she does not allow her school-aged children to help fold the laundry because they will not do it right and the laundry will be a mess. My reply to her is that they have to learn to do it right, which can only be done by trying. Allowing them to do a chore allows them to master that chore.- Doing chores teaches responsibility. Requiring your children to do chores allows them to develop responsibility that they will take into adulthood. Children learn that they are responsible for certain tasks and that they must complete those tasks. After a while responsibility becomes a habit.
- Doing chores instills the values of cleanliness, hard work, and order. Expecting and teaching these values will likely develop them in your children.
- Doing chores can build self-esteem. Think of how you feel when you accomplish a task. Completing tasks can give your child a tremendous sense of accomplishment that they will likely want to repeat.
- Doing chores teaches time management and self-discipline. This is quite important as many adults have not mastered these skills yet. Being able to plan the time to complete chores and follow through on their completion is a valuable life skill.
- When children do chores, parents do less chores. On its surface this sounds like a benefit for parents only. However, parents with more time and well run houses are generally less stressed and have more time for the important things in life. As the old saying goes, “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”
Twitter: WagnerDebra
says:
Like mother like daughter!! It can only do them good! Great job
Thanks. <3
Twitter: sweeptight
says:
Definitely!!! I was raised by my Grandmother and she never made me do chores. Now I despise them as an adult. It was quite a shock when I had to start cleaning my own house!!
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I bet it was.
Twitter: thislilpiglet
says:
I agree completely. I try to get my kids to do chores and my mom thinks I’m being mean. Mean because I teach them to clean up after themselves and not be pigs? Their spouses will thank me one day. You kids are so cute btw!
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Thanks!
Someone once told me that if you get called mean you must be a good mom lol.
Excellent points! I usually have my kids help alongside whatever I am working on – I know eventually that means they will be able to do it on their own. It does take longer when they help, but I know that it is part of teaching them responsibility, and it will only help them in the long run.
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Twitter: thelegacyofhome
says:
This is a great reminder for mothers. It is so important for the children to work around the house.
Blessings
Mrs. White
The Legacy of Home
Mrs. White recently posted..The Kitchen is Ready
My daughter (20 months) LOVES to do chores, especially sweeping. Of course she creates about as much mess as she helps, but I notice she’s getting better and she really will throw away stray trash on her own (thankfully she yells “tass-tass” the whole way so I would catch anything she shouldn’t throw away
) and put dirty utensils in the sink all on her own!
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Twitter: ohsosavvymom
says:
Awesome post! StumbleUpon led me here and I’m glad it did. My husband and I have been realizing our 4.5 year old needs more responsibility around the house. My sister has 4 kids, and is teaching all of her children to be very hard workers. I actually just asked her if she’d write me a blog post on age appropriate chores and such for kids.
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Thanks! I think chores are so very important for the kiddos.
AMEN sister. Our grown children are evidence that it is worth it!
Twitter: Justpictureit
says:
I have a couple of close friends that don’t have their kids do anything around the house either. I am quick to start having them do chores. My kids are 5, 3, 3 and 1. Obviously the baby doesn’t do anything. But the others will race through their normal chores (cleaning toys, their rooms, etc.) to have first grabs for the “fun” stuff (sorting laundry, helping with the dishes and helping with the floors).
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