Growing up, doing chores around the home was a given.
My two siblings and I had chores for as long as we can remember – stuck to the side of the kitchen fridge, my organized and tidy mother posted a schedule of our weekly household chores. And we did them. There was no need for money or prizes or gifts or allowances – we just knew that, as part of the family, we were to help out.
Now as a parent, my mother’s organization and dedication in teaching us chores is a gem! It has been a standard for our children, as well, to do their household daily chores.
Here are some reasons why I believe your children should be doing chores:
1. You are not super mom. You cannot clean the entire house, make a nutritious dinner, get your children ready for school – or homeschool them – and do every task that is required of you, along with keeping your house clean. Everyone helps make the mess, in general, so therefore everyone should be helping clean the house.
2. Your children need to learn how to clean their future houses. That is something I think is important! If you do not teach your children to be orderly and tidy, they will surely struggle as they leave the nest and prepare their own homes. Teaching your children to tidy up after themselves, keep their rooms clean, put their laundry away, do the dishes, prepare meals, help with outside gardening chores, is a life skill that cannot be skipped. “A place for everything and everything in it’s place.”
3. It teaches your children the value of work and the results of a good labour. How will they learn to hold jobs, keep an interest in studying in future years or work on the mission field if they cannot weed a garden or clean their room without complaining? Take a short term missions trip with your children and they will soon see things are not always served on a silver platter.
4. The Bible commands it. Proverbs 12:11 says “He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.” Proverbs 12:24 warns against laziness, and Proverbs 14:23 says: “In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury {poverty}.” There are so many verses warning about idleness and laziness and the blessings of hard work and toil. You would be foolish to ignore such verses.
5. This one was added by my 13 year old daughter: Chores are fun! Yes, she actually said that. I was writing out this post and she came to read it over my shoulder. I asked her what I should add and she said “It’s fun! I like cleaning up!” Proof enough? Train while young. Personally, I enjoy doing chores, as well. There is satisfaction in a clean home, an organized closet or a tidy garden. Some are more enjoyable than others, but you can turn on some encouraging music and provide some little cleaning baskets to help the children be inspired to dust their rooms, wash down their windows, wipe baseboards and more. We actually do not find the house work to be “hard labour” compared to the outdoor work.
{Now, please do not think my home is clean and tidy all the time – real life happens here and a messy life it is at times! We work in spots and move to another area, so sometimes one area is clean but the other area is not. We have our areas that tend to get messier than others (closets – ahem), but we do work on cleaning them up.}
I have had some people ask me how and what do for a chore system for the children. I basically followed my mother’s example. No fancy bells or whistles – just a simple spreadsheet from Excel with chores assigned to each girl on a daily basis, alternating for the day of the week.
And yes, it is posted on the side of my fridge.
Since this post is so long, I will split this between a few entries so as not to ramble on too long. I will include more specific chores that my children do in the next entry and how to keep it fun and regular.
For now, enjoy your day with your children – working away beside you at some of the household chores.
by Gigi
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