Chores will give children caring attitude, says study

Most children are asked to take on only trivial responsibilities, such as feeding a pet, clearing the table after dinner or tidying up after themselves. Photo / NZ Herald

Children should be given chores to help them develop a caring attitude and keep them grounded, according to a survey that found parents are now reluctant to ask children to do household tasks.

A study of the articles, advice and letters published in more than 300 parenting magazines between 1920 and 2006 has found most modern-day children are asked to take on only trivial responsibilities, such as feeding a pet, clearing the table after dinner or tidying up after themselves.

"In earlier generations, children and adolescents were given meaningful opportunities to be responsible by contributing not only to their households but also to their larger communities," said Markella Rutherford, assistant professor of sociology at Wellesley College in Massachusetts and author of the new study, Children's Autonomy and Responsibility: An Analysis of Child Rearing Advice.

"This was seen as especially important for adolescents," she said.

"Until very recently, greater autonomy and responsibility were emphasised as antidotes to teenage listlessness and rebellion."

Until the 1980s, staff at parenting magazines and parents who wrote in agreed that chores helped children develop empathy and a desire to contribute to the wellbeing of others, she said.

Between the 1930s and 1970s, adolescent and pre-adolescent children were expected to plan menus, shop and prepare meals for the family.

They were given responsibility for tasks including nursing sick family members, keeping household accounts, decorating or even helping to maintain the family car.

"Even very young children were assumed to be capable of contributing to necessary tasks," said Rutherford. Schoolwork is the only real responsibility given to the modern child, said Rutherford.

"In the 1980s, descriptions of children's household chores all but disappeared from parenting magazines," she said.

In rare cases when children were asked to shoulder more onerous chores, references were invariably made to "bribes" in the form of payment or points that could be "cashed in" for toys, games or outings.

Rutherford's findings reflect another recent survey that found British children earn about £700 ($1572) a year doing chores and errands for their parents.

"In the past, parents didn't feel the need to bribe children because they were confident chores benefited their kids by making them feel both responsible and an active part of family life," she said.

"Added to which, children of the past would not have expected to be bribed because their parents taught them to take pride in a job well done."

Jeremy Todd, chief executive of the UK's national helpline Parentline Plus, said parents had to be careful not to demand too much of their children and must ensure responsibilities were fair and age-appropriate.

- OBSERVER