In the past in America, children were valuable workers. For example, they helped on the farm or in the family business in order to bring in money. Just a couple of generations later, attitudes have changed. Now children are hardly expected to work at all. Modern children often don't even do household chores. This is sad, because I think that they are missing something if they don't help out at home. Sharing in household tasks benefits children of all ages.
First of all, household tasks build skills. Very young children learn motor skills and classification skills when they pick up their toys and put them away. Talking about how to do things helps them learn to analyze situations. Older children learn skills they'll need as an adult. Cleaning and cooking may seem dull, but knowing how to do them well makes life a lot easier. How many young adults leave for college unable to do their own laundry or cook anything besides a frozen microwave dinner? It's amazingly common.
When everyone in a family helps out, the family is happier. Nowadays it's common for both parents to work. When they come home, they have more work to do. Life is stressful and there's no time for fun. By sharing household tasks, everyone gains. Children can help their parents with simple tasks such as picking up their own rooms, putting away their own laundry, starting dinner occasionally, or taking care of younger siblings. Then the family can relax together, and parents won't feel like servants to their "couch potato" offspring.
The most important thing children learn from helping with household tasks is responsibility. Handling everyday tasks teaches organization and time management skills. Children learn that chores have to be completed before they can play, or before ? They get their allowances. Children who understand that effort pays off will be more successful later in life.
Kids should not work all the time. A happy life needs balance. But if they can successfully handle tasks at home, they will handle life better too. They will know the satisfaction of doing a good job, be involved in family life, and become more confident and responsible adults.
Should children be required to help with household tasks as soon as they are able to do so? People have different opinions. Some people think that parents can do all the household tasks without children's help, children are still too young to do house work and sometimes they even make things worse. Other people, however, argue that it
is very useful for children to take part in the household work. As far as I am concerned, I agree with the second opinion.
In the first place, children may have the sense of contribution when they take part in household tasks. After a child was born, the parents are always the part that gives, such as feeding, changing clothes, and bathing the baby. Others help children because they are too young to do these tasks. When they grow up, they will gradually have the ability to do something, such as washing clothes for themselves, cleaning the room for themselves. If they are required to do what they can do, after finishing their jobs and looking at the result of their jobs, such the clean clothes and the clean room, children will have a strong sense of contribution and success, which will help them form a good personal character.
In the second place, participating the household tasks will teach children how to cooperate with other people. For instance, When doing a house cleaning, one person cannot finish it all by oneself. Different tasks should be divided among several people. For example, dad cleans the windows, mom cleans the kitchen, boys clean the floor and girls decorate the wall. Gradually, children will get to know that they need to cooperate with others to make things done better and faster.
