Every single day, like clockwork, I find myself reminding my kids to tackle their chores—at least once per child, and that’s on a good day.
Take my son, for instance. He’s responsible for taking the dog out after school and dinner. When the dog starts whining at the door, I nudge him to take action. After a couple of reminders, I’m left wondering why he thinks I’m suddenly in a bad mood.
Then there’s my daughter. When it’s her turn to fold the laundry, it often sits neglected in the dryer until I’ve reminded her a few times. “Why is there so much laundry? This is the worst!” she exclaims. I can relate; who enjoys laundry? But I’m grateful my kids are old enough to handle it. As long as they’re under my roof, I’m not folding laundry again. Life is good!
Many parents agree that kids should do chores. It teaches responsibility, imparts essential life skills, and helps raise considerate individuals who don’t expect everything to be done for them. However, instilling a solid work ethic can be one of the toughest challenges we face as parents. The temptation to correct their half-hearted efforts or just do the chores ourselves is strong, especially after a long day of negotiating with them to get things done.
Having two tweens and a teenager, we’ve been navigating this for a while now. They are well aware of their daily responsibilities but still resist and sulk during chore time.
But you know what? It doesn’t matter. They can try to dodge their duties all they want. They might be stubborn, but so am I. There’s no way they’ll live here without contributing.
With four of us under this roof, we all create messes and dirt, so everyone should pitch in. Now that they’re older and I’ve invested time in teaching them how to contribute, I’m finally starting to see some results. It’s rewarding, despite the usual complaints.
They may not realize it now, but I often remind them that one day, they’ll appreciate knowing how to cook, clean, and maintain their hygiene (which seems to be the biggest chore of all!). They probably won’t understand until they’re parents themselves, witnessing how a child can turn a clean house upside down in seconds.
I hope that by the time they’re on their own, they’ll feel empowered with skills like cooking a meal, keeping their clothes tidy, and even steam cleaning a rug. If they manage to do all that before I come to visit, I’ll consider it a win!
For now, as long as they’re living here and I’m covering the bills, I refuse to do all the work. I won’t be the one busting my butt while they lounge around with snacks, watching YouTube videos of other kids playing!
My kids may think they can outsmart me in this game, but I have the endurance to prevail. After all, mothers have an unmatched stamina.
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In summary, while my kids might resist doing chores, I firmly believe in the importance of teaching them responsibility. They will learn valuable life skills that will serve them well in the future—all while contributing to our household.