Forums / Discussion / Serious Debate

I don't really have an argument, but the thought does cross my mind a fair bit. Kids hate doing chores, and our excuses for making them do them are usually along the lines "we all have to do things we don't want to" or "it will make you responsible" or something like that. So why do we keep pushing kids to do things they hate to do? On the flip side, as far as we know if kids don't do chores they become lazy, but is that 100% true? It's just so ingrained into our society that kids have to do chores to become functioning adults that I don't think anyones really looked at it from another angle. Thoughts?

Interesting argument to bring up. I really don't think kids need to be given chores to learn responsibility, there are plenty of other ways to do that, especially when they're teenagers. I'm not knocking the concept of chores either, I just don't think your child will be doomed to a life of poverty and failure if you don't make them clean the litter box. Kids have to learn small responsibilities from a young age such as how to handle going to school and doing their homework and as they grow into teenagers those responsibilities grow into having to get themselves up in the morning, feeding/clothing themselves, getting a job, go to extracurricular activities, do community service, manage their own social life, etc, etc. Beyond that, responsibility can be taught by teaching kids the value of the dollar i.e. giving them a set allowance every week and forcing them to save up their money for what they want instead of buying it for them (which of course can go hand in hand with doing chores but is not entirely necessary). The latter method is what my parents used to teach me responsibility and while it is just anecdotal evidence it seems to have worked out well for me.

Seems to me that all you're really doing is training them to spend their lives doing manual labor that they hate but have to do. A lot, and I mean a lot, of people in the world unfortunately have to do exactly that pretty much until their death. And as a parent, shouldn't you… oh, I don't know, maybe aim a little bit higher than that? Besides, everyone with a functioning brain learns responsibility once their life depends on it, i.e. when they leave the house. So long as they know how to do what they need to, of course.
But that just means the stereotypical argument is bullshit, not the chores themselves. The "shit needs to get done, and I want to have at least a little bit of a life outside of my house and my kids" argument I have no problem with. So tell them exactly that, and pay them a reasonable amount for their services. If they won't do them after that? Fuck, I don't know. Some people are just assholes.