Children and Chores

In the Wednesday Wall Street Journal there is a small article extolling the virtues of making children pitch in around the house. It cites some interesting statistics like the average 6-12 year old child "spends a mere 24 minutes per day doing cleaning, laundry, and other housework-a 12% decline since 1997 and a 25% drop from 1981 levels.[1]" So let me do the math on this: 24 minutes X 1.25 (the 1981 level) and the average child did approximately 30 minutes worth of chores around the home daily. So in essence we have lost 6 minutes of productivity per child per day in 27 years. That is 6 fewer minutes spent dishwashing, clothes folding, sweeping, mopping, taking out the garbage, mowing lawns, etc. each day. Now 6 minutes per day doesn't sound like a lot, but I think that it is a microcosm of American society.

As I see it there are 4 reasons why children are not helping out as much around the house as they used to:

1) We have less stuff and therefore less to do (highly unlikely). 

2) Our society replaces non-working items rather than fixing or re-tasking them.

3) We are too busy to do it/we hire out for help. Cleaning services, car washes, oil changes etc.

4) Mom and Dad pick up the slack and let the kids off the hook.

I think a combination of options 2-4 represent the reason our children are doing less. Options 2 and 3 would help instill a sense of pride in children when they get to help perform these tasks. Antonio always pulls out his Bob The Builder toolkit when he sees daddy using tools. I learned how to fix complex computer equipment as a teenager working for my father's business. He and I rebuilt a classic Ford Mustang and I got to learn a great deal about the inner workings of automobiles and engineering in general. The only garage my cars visit for tune-ups and oil changes is the one attached to my house. I hope to instill the same kind of knowledge and verve in my children as well when they get a bit older. I also hope that Option #4 never rears its ugly head in my house.

Now I'm not bashing anyone who has never replaced automobile parts, this is merely a skill that I have that I wish to pass on to my children. Others of you may be experts at some other facet of homemaking that needs to be passed on. Misty for instance learned to sew from her grandmother. Some of you cook very well. Some of you have green thumbs. Let's get our kids involved. These are traits worth passing on. Anything we can teach our children about problem solving and how to create or fix anything increases their self-worth and willingness to help in the future.

Another point in the WSJ article is that teaching young men to pitch-in around the house "has become a crucial marriage-preservation skill. [2]" I would even go so far to say that teaching boys these lessons (which we will do in our house) is good preparation for college and the real world. No one is going to do their laundry when they go to college or when they finally move out on their own. The path to un-enlightenedness is marked with dust bunnies, wrinkled clothes and Ramen noodles.

Now contrast this seemingly insignificant 6 minute decline with our bulging waistlines and there is a theme emerging here...we are getting lazy as a nation. Here is a shocking statistic about childhood obesity: "In 2002, data showed that 15% of children and teens are considered overweight, a tripling since 1980. An additional 15% of kids and teens are considered 'at risk' for becoming overweight.[3]" The date range is strikingly similar. Could it be that we are our children's worst enemies when it comes to staying healthy? And how about this one: "Forty-three percent of students in grades 9-12 watch television more than two hours per day. Physical activity declines dramatically over the course of adolescence, and girls are significantly less likely than boys to participate regularly in vigorous physical activity. [4]" If high school students have enough time to watch 2 hours of TV per day then surely we can find another 6 minutes worth of chores for our children to do. Let's start now.

1: Shellenbarger, Sue (2008, August 27). On the Virtues of Making Your Children Do the Dishes. Wall Street Journal, p.D1.

2: Ibid.

3: America Scores:Statistics on Childhood Obesity. Retrieved August 27, 2008, from  http://www.americascores.org/index.php?id=390

4: ibid