Children today are hardly given enough attention in the home due to parents working. Some children, however, have the ultimate luxury of having a parent at home. The children, therefore, at an early age become quite independent in their thinking and actions. They are what we call "their own boss" in a broad sense. Parents come home from work exhausted. They are not interested in seeing a dirty house or a disheveled mess in the middle of the floor, so they ask their children why they haven't done their chores. It becomes a contest in a sense, so many parents forego the tension by making bribery a means to settle the problem. Children then become more of their own boss, and actually, they become their parents' bosses by being paid to do chores. This is very prevalent in homes where parents have a few dollars to spare. It matters not the amount, it is the principle that is being ingrained into the children who live in such homes.
Poor mom, and even dad. They do everything from the time their wake up until the time their go to bed. Why can't the children pitch in and help alleviate some of this tremendous pressure without charge? Mom's work is not always compensated.Even when the children grow up and have their own families, some of them still do not realize the sacrifices and hardships Mom had to endure while raising them. The principle that should exist is for everyone to lift their fair share of the load. Mom does not get paid to wash the clothes and fix breakfast. She does not get paid to go shopping or drop off the kids at their practices. Dad does not receive cash for every time he mows the lawn or repairs things in the house. Their lists of unrecompensed labor is long. So why should the children, for whom they are doing most of the work get off free with a short list of chores which are sloppily done?
It has been well said that parents who give their children too much later see that the children, instead of truly loving them for it, don't. The children whose parents give them little seem to love the sox off of those parents. Thjey are always trying to do things to please the parents who do virtually nothing for them. Have you witnessed this too? So, actually, we are not benefiting ourselves or the children in the short or long run to give them too much. When we make them partners in lifting the load of the home, they appreciate themselves, us, and what is being done. In fact, if they go unrewarded they understand that they are part of the family, and not an employee who has not stake in making home better.
No!- emphatically- no bribery at all is key to children's understanding. At first they may complain that they are not being paid like their friends, but later they will see that the little amount of work they are contributing to the home is making everyone happy. They will see the smiles on the faces of their moms and dads. It will become second nature to them to pitch in and help.
On the other hand, it has been noted that children who must be paid every time they even lift a finger to help out, the work the done in a poor fashion. They do it hastily and with an attitude. If they don't get paid the amount they want, matters become worse, and some parents have demands and mild threats if they don't pay up. "Who is the boss?" is the dominant question. Children who have to be paid to wash dishes, sweep the floor, take out the trash, mow the lawn, clean their rooms, help a neighbor, or even make the table, for cash begin to see these chores with separate price tags attached to them. One such child accepted $25.00 from an elderly lady of 80 to wash and vacuum her van, and still he never washed it. The poor lady was upset to say the least. The same child refused to help a sick woman by mowing her lawn for free. He wanted to charge the woman $10.00 for a lawn that took only 20 minutes to mow. It was truly disgusting!
Society will discover that children soon become grownups. If they grow up charging for everything they do, they will soon become sadly disappointed. They will find themselves isolated on an island of selfishness and people will see them for who they are. It is therefore up to parents to help their children understand the message of giving time and energy unselfishly. Later, as they mature and join the labor force where they have to get out there and earn their own keep, they will appreciate the fact that their parents gave them more than they could ever receive- dignity, work ethics, and the understanding that they must lift their fair share in life to be successful. This pay is priceless!