PEARL 7

Chores

Nothing warms the heart like the sight of our children industriously

flitting about the house completing their chores. We see them assuming a
sense of responsibility and belonging, and we are right proud. Plus,
there’s work being done, progress being made, and our property being
cared for. Oh, happy, happy day!
Come now, this isn’t utopia. More commonly, chores are dreaded —
by parents and youngsters alike. The fact is, hands don’t shoot up in
giddy excitement when we ask, “Who wants to do the dishes?” Happy
feet don’t scurry for the broom when we ask, “Okay, who wants to clean
the garage today?” But if handled properly, we can take the hassle out of
chores. And we start when our kids are young.
When they are little, kids enjoy doing things with their parents. We say
“doing things with” instead of “helping” because, face it, what they do is
not real help. They just naturally like to copy us. They like to stir around
in the water as Mom does dishes. They like to push around their little
lawn mowers when Dad cuts the grass. When it snows, they cry rivers if
we don’t buy them little plastic shovels so they can “help” scoop the
walks. (Too bad they don’t do that when they’re twelve!)
The secret to instilling a good attitude in our kids about chores (brace
yourself, this may sound like bad news) is that we must have fun while
doing them. If we make it seem like drudgery, then our little ones will
think, If that is what doing chores is like, count me out. Getting them to
do anything around the house for the next twelve to fourteen years will
resemble arms negotiations. So during the toddler years, we should get