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Kids Today Need More (Not Less) Responsibility

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Daniel Lattier | July 15, 2016

My wife and I are among the only 28% of parents today who make their children do chores. And, like many children when forced to do undesirable work, ours do their fair share of complaining and dawdling.

In these moments, the reminder we frequently give them is this: “It’s not your job to play.”

Perhaps to some this sounds harsh. After all, the idea that they have a special mandate for play and “free time” is exactly what our current society communicates to children. From the moment they first exit the womb, America’s youth are surrounded by a constantly updated slew of toys and devices for entertainment. They very quickly learn that adults primarily require that they play and do what they want, which these days usually means screen time. The average child now spends over six hours in front of a screen each day.

Even now in school—which most of history deemed a very “un-fun” place—it’s expected that teachers will make the curriculum appropriately engaging and that plenty of activities (read: useless assemblies and fairs) and time for socialization will be provided.

https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/blog/kids-today-need-more-not-less-responsibility

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Problem: 21% of Parents Don’t Require Their Kids to Do Chores

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Annie Holmquist | December 4, 2015

“Setting regular chores probably means you will argue more. A third of parents in the U.S. who require their youngsters to perform regular household duties argue with them once a week, according to the survey. That compares with just 21% of parents that do not require that their kids perform household chores.

But the payoff is big. According to the survey, among parents who require chores:

87% report their kids are doing well in school, vs. 61% of parents who do not require chores.
92% report their kids are creative, vs. 80% of parents who do not require chores.
88% regard their kids as responsible, vs. 63% of parents who do not require chores.
92% regard their kids as disciplined, vs. 78% of parents who do not require chores.”

https://intellectualtakeout.org/blog/problem-21-parents-dont-require-their-kids-do-chores

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Why Children Need Chores

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Why Children Need Chores

Doing household chores has many benefits—academically, emotionally and even professionally.

By Jennifer Breheny Wallace
March 13, 2015 12:04 p.m. ET

Today’s demands for measurable childhood success—from the Common Core to college placement—have chased household chores from the to-do lists of many young people. In a survey of 1,001 U.S. adults released last fall by Braun Research, 82% reported having regular chores growing up, but only 28% said that they require their own children to do them. With students under pressure to learn Mandarin, run the chess club or get a varsity letter, chores have fallen victim to the imperatives of resume-building—though it is hardly clear that such activities are a better use of their time.

“Parents today want their kids spending time on things that can bring them success, but ironically, we’ve stopped doing one thing that’s actually been a proven predictor of success—and that’s household chores,” says Richard Rende, a developmental psychologist in Paradise Valley, Ariz., and co-author of the forthcoming book “Raising Can-Do Kids.” Decades of studies show the benefits of chores—academically, emotionally and even professionally.

https://reason.com/blog/2015/03/30/you-know-who-else-thought-the-nsa-mass-m