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| Yes | 89% | 343 votes | Total: 385 votes | |
| No | 11% | 42 votes |
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Add to FavoritesHaving grown up in a non-sexist household, as teenagers both males and females were required to maintain their rooms, do their washings and press their clothes. It was a pain in the rear at the time, but over the years it's probably the best thing that ever happened to all of us as we are all quite proficient in what we do and well able to take care of all our personal needs.
Therefore, the response to this question would be an unequivocal and resounding "yes." Even if parents are performing all those functions they should be mindful, they are not going to be with their children all their lives, and as adults their children will probably not have valets or maids. There is nothing more pathetic than witnessing, able-bodied, strapping young adults expecting others to perform chores they should be able to do for themselves.
In all sincerity, what, if anything, do we expect from youths in today's society? In most cases, too little. In an ideal world, they should share with all household chores. Starting from outdoors, they should be held responsible for mowing the lawn for those lucky enough to have them. That pretty much narrows it down for the great outdoors as there are no piles of logs to cut for fire wood or water and food to carry to feed livestock or other menial chores to perform, chores that once help define the role of children and parents within the family structure in America and elsewhere.
Are today's youths expected to have a role within the household where they can see themselves as functioning contributors? Yes. As contributors, there should be delineated roles as most parents work outside the home, even in two parent households. Youths should be responsible for picking up their rooms, which includes making their beds, vacuuming the floors, cleaning the bathroom, dusting the furniture. They should also be responsible for putting dishes in the dishwasher; such menial tasks should not be left to harried mothers or fathers who in addition to working outside the home must prepare the family meals as well as co-parent.
In today's throw away society, we should not throw out the definition of responsibility. We must not allow our youths to become mollycoddled and dependent as one day they will have families of their own. As parents of cosseted children, imagine the future of those unfortunate enough to enter into relationships with your dependent children. It chills the mind, doesn't it?
Responsible parents must ensure they are rearing responsible children. They know that being capable adults mean being able to function in just about any situation life tosses at them. Life is often difficult; the most parents can do for their children is to teach them how to cope and how to function in any circumstances. In the final analysis, each individual is responsible for himself or herself. At a minimum, capable adults, whether male or female, should be able to prepare nutritional meals; wash and iron their clothes; maintain a sanitary house; set up a budget; and take care of any outside chores. As parents, we owe that to the next generation.
Learn more about this author, Dossie M Terrell.
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No
When my son was in fifth grade he developed a love for a morning routine, which included ironing the pair of pants and shirt he would wear to school that day. He had reached a stage where he seemed to enjoy taking responsibility for himself, and he particularly loved getting up very early in order to be able to have an organized morning.
If he had asked me to iron his shirts I would have been glad to do it, but he never asked. He would eat a healthy breakfast, iron his shirt and pants, take a shower, and do a skin-care routine on his face (because he was worried about a blemish that would occasionally appear).
Since it looked to me as if my son knew how to get the shirt and pants ironed, I didn't interfere or offer suggestions.
It was around that time when he also asked if he could wash his own clothes. It just seemed that he liked feeling he was on top of things in his life. It took all of 30 seconds, I'm guessing, to give him the rundown on hot, warm, and cold water for which clothes. Explaining about separating some items, and about how some colors may run in hot water, took another ten seconds.
My theory was always that ironing and washing made my son feel grown up because he had come to see such tasks as what grown-ups do.
My other two children showed no interest in ironing their clothes from fifth grade on, but once they got to be in their early teens they just took it upon themselves to throw in their own wash. If I were doing a wash I may ask if anyone had anything to add to it, but, in general, they just washed their own clothes.
Upon thinking about it, I realize that my mother never told me how to wash or iron either. She, as I did, gave me quick pointers about not mixing whites and colors somewhere along the way. Never, though, did she ask me to do my own laundry. Neither did she ever show me any ironing tricks. Still, as my own kids did, once I got to a certain age I just washed my own clothes. If I had a need to iron them I would iron them.
Throwing in a load of any kind of clothes isn't a difficult thing to figure out. Ironing is something most of us figured out by following the fabric guidelines on the iron's settings labels. It doesn't take anyone very long to figure out that some ironing motions make new wrinkles or that the wrong setting will make the fabric start to stick a little.
I don't believe that the job of washing and ironing the family's laundry should become the responsibility of children; but when it comes to their own clothes, I think most kids just figure out when it's time to wash their own and iron them if they think they need it.
Washing and ironing one's own clothes is a part of life, the way brushing one's teeth is. Washing and ironing are not great skills, great art, a lofty goal, or most people's choice of a career. I tend to suspect if we just do our laundry and don't make a big deal out of what a chore it is, our kids grow up and see it the same way.
Learn more about this author, Lisa H Warren.
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