Anonymous wrote:I didn’t do chores growing up. Like, at all. We had a maid who came every day so I didn’t even make my bed. I don’t recall ever doing anything with the dishwasher. We had gardeners so I didn’t have to worry about anything outside. I did take care of feeding the dog but I liked the dog. I cooked and baked but only when I wanted to. I am now a fully successful adult with a very clean and organized house who cooks a lot although I work out of the house full time. I do make my kids put their dirty clothes in their hamper and pick up their toys and stuff and they generally make their beds every morning during the school week but that’s about it for now. I agree with you that this is not the most popular approach but honestly I’m not worried that they won’t be able to figure out how to do things on their own when the time comes. I don’t think one needs over a decade of laundry and other household chores to learn how to do them. I mean, they aren’t hard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t do chores growing up. Like, at all. We had a maid who came every day so I didn’t even make my bed. I don’t recall ever doing anything with the dishwasher. We had gardeners so I didn’t have to worry about anything outside. I did take care of feeding the dog but I liked the dog. I cooked and baked but only when I wanted to. I am now a fully successful adult with a very clean and organized house who cooks a lot although I work out of the house full time. I do make my kids put their dirty clothes in their hamper and pick up their toys and stuff and they generally make their beds every morning during the school week but that’s about it for now. I agree with you that this is not the most popular approach but honestly I’m not worried that they won’t be able to figure out how to do things on their own when the time comes. I don’t think one needs over a decade of laundry and other household chores to learn how to do them. I mean, they aren’t hard.

That is great but for every story like that there is one a student that goes off to college and can not do laundry. At all No clue.

That was my nephew. No need for that. Just have the kid do laundry and other basic chore before you send him off do he not so helpless.

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t do chores growing up. Like, at all. We had a maid who came every day so I didn’t even make my bed. I don’t recall ever doing anything with the dishwasher. We had gardeners so I didn’t have to worry about anything outside. I did take care of feeding the dog but I liked the dog. I cooked and baked but only when I wanted to. I am now a fully successful adult with a very clean and organized house who cooks a lot although I work out of the house full time. I do make my kids put their dirty clothes in their hamper and pick up their toys and stuff and they generally make their beds every morning during the school week but that’s about it for now. I agree with you that this is not the most popular approach but honestly I’m not worried that they won’t be able to figure out how to do things on their own when the time comes. I don’t think one needs over a decade of laundry and other household chores to learn how to do them. I mean, they aren’t hard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been seeing so many self-righteous, preachy posts about how important it is to make kids do chores. One lady pulled her step-daughter away from her cousins during the family Christmas party to make her hand wash dishes even though there was a dishwasher available. Then she posted a picture of the child with a message about how important it is to make kids do their fair share of the work. My SIL kept doing the same thing on our family trip - very dramatically pulling her kids away from fun and laughter to help in the kitchen. Then she kept telling us about all the chores they have to do after school every day. SIL does not work.

My kids are teenagers and my rule has always been that we all clean up after ourselves. So my kids clean their rooms, bathrooms, pick up their stuff around the house. They all started doing their own laundry around age 10. They help out with other stuff such as vacuuming and dusting when I actually need their help. But I don’t make them do weekly chores just because. Vacuuming, mopping, and dusting are not difficult. They don’t need 18 years of practice before living on their own. They have the rest of their lives to do that stuff so why make them do it throughout childhood too? My oldest is a freshman in college. She has never been interested in learning to cook. Her siblings enjoy it so they have more experience than she does. She will move into an apartment next year so I will teach her how to cook this summer. If she won’t take the time to learn then she will struggle next year. We call that natural consequences, which has always been more effective with my kids than random chores such as hand-washing dishes unnecessarily. My kids have all turned out to be extremely independent and self-sufficient. I believe that this is partially due to our rule of taking care of themselves.

Anyway, to each their own, but I just wanted to share my perspective since I have seen and heard so much from the chore-loving parents lately!

OK. You sound as preachy as the parents you're making fun of.

Anonymous wrote:Most of the post describes the chores your kids do. Doesn't really fit with your title. Chores are just another word for the work that needs to be done to clean up after the people in the house and to maintain a clean, reasonably tidy home.

Anonymous wrote:Vacuuming, mopping, and dusting are not difficult. They don’t need 18 years of practice before living on their own. They have the rest of their lives to do that stuff so why make them do it throughout childhood too?

Anonymous wrote:I have been seeing so many self-righteous, preachy posts about how important it is to make kids do chores. One lady pulled her step-daughter away from her cousins during the family Christmas party to make her hand wash dishes even though there was a dishwasher available. Then she posted a picture of the child with a message about how important it is to make kids do their fair share of the work. My SIL kept doing the same thing on our family trip - very dramatically pulling her kids away from fun and laughter to help in the kitchen. Then she kept telling us about all the chores they have to do after school every day. SIL does not work.

My kids are teenagers and my rule has always been that we all clean up after ourselves. So my kids clean their rooms, bathrooms, pick up their stuff around the house. They all started doing their own laundry around age 10. They help out with other stuff such as vacuuming and dusting when I actually need their help. But I don’t make them do weekly chores just because. Vacuuming, mopping, and dusting are not difficult. They don’t need 18 years of practice before living on their own. They have the rest of their lives to do that stuff so why make them do it throughout childhood too? My oldest is a freshman in college. She has never been interested in learning to cook. Her siblings enjoy it so they have more experience than she does. She will move into an apartment next year so I will teach her how to cook this summer. If she won’t take the time to learn then she will struggle next year. We call that natural consequences, which has always been more effective with my kids than random chores such as hand-washing dishes unnecessarily. My kids have all turned out to be extremely independent and self-sufficient. I believe that this is partially due to our rule of taking care of themselves.

Anyway, to each their own, but I just wanted to share my perspective since I have seen and heard so much from the chore-loving parents lately!