Reply to Stay-At-Home-Mother but not Housekeeper

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Am I an outlier here?  Until I was 8, my mom was at home and dad worked. My mom had three kids, had been a teacher, had a masters degree, but she sure as heck didn't spend her whole day "engaging" with us.  Sure, she played with us, and taught us things.  But she also cooked, cleaned, volunteered for a bunch of things at church and school, and loved to read.  We played with each other, neighborhood kids, and our pets. We came up with all kinds of crazy, creative schemes that no one had to guide us through.  My dad worked hard, traveled a good deal for work, and still managed to do most of the outside house maintenance and repairs, bill paying, etc.  When my mom went back to work, we didn't hire a cleaning service, because she had three kids who were expected to do chores. From mid-elementary school until we were out of the house, we were expected to mop, vacuum, dust, fold laundry, help cook, wash dishes, etc.  And, yes, we kids all still had time for extracurricular activities and got good grades.  Am I the only one in DC who lives like this today?  I work 3/4 time and DH works full time, but between us we still manage to get everything done.  My kids (10 and 8) have chores to do.  When they're finished, they play and entertain themselves while DH and I tend to other responsibilities.  I think it's really important to teach kids to value and take care of their home, that they are responsible for the messes they make, and that they have duties to help the household run.[/quote]

It's not an exclusive all/or thing. I have a part time housekeeper but my kids (4.5 and under) are taught to dress themselves in mornings (when age appropriate), at least throw duvet over bed, take dishes to sink, ask to be excused, 4.5 has household "chores", but at least at these young ages there's only so much time they can be left alone to play for safety reasons. 4.5 and 2.5 have just began going out to yard on their own and I love it but I need to supervise pretty often check in - we have a large yard. If I didn't have a housekeeper I'd have to force them to stay indoors while I cook and within earshot while also wrangling a baby. This gives more freedom for all. I totally agree with your thoughts in theory - just think there are many ways to go about this.[/quote]

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