by Ray Ham

Created on: January 26, 2008   Last Updated: July 11, 2011

If parents are responsible for preparing their children for the future,and they are ,then learning how to do all the necessary tasks for survival will include washing and ironing their own clothing. Now, whether a parent wants to make their child do all their washing and ironing is another matter. It makes little sense to treat children as house guests where they come and go, eat and sleep but have no responsibilities for helping the family constellation properly function.

All children should have chores around the house; otherwise, parents become servants to little tyrants who always want someone to do something for them. While some may think this is cruel of parents, it actually is a sign of love and concern. Parents, instead of looking at the here and now, actually think about their child's future. Can you imagine a girl growing up who does not know how to cook, wash dishes, sew on a button or iron her husband's clothes. When she marries, she is not prepared for running a home. I actually went to college with a girl that had never once washed a load of clothes at home and had never ever cooked a meal. Her mother did all this for her and did it out of love.

What about the boy who does not know how to cook or do any of the other things he is required to do to survive when he leaves home? Today's society is different now than 50 years ago. Children do not marry until their late 20s and many live at home. How sad it is to have a 25 year old living at home who does not make a contribution to the family; and even sadder is the fact that the parents have brought him up to expect that mother does everything for him.

In the real world of marriage, it is likely that the husband and wife send out their clothes to the cleaners; but what about the emergency when the husband has a business meeting with his boss and his best shirt has a button missing. The wife comes to the rescue, the husband makes it to his meeting, and later that night the bedroom is filled with romance.

Families are small units of democracy in action. When family members learn to cooperate with one another, and become contributing participants, then our children are prepared to live in a democratic society. Family who appreciate one another and treat each other with respect and dignity will go out into the community and treat other fellow humans with mutual respect.

There may be a giant leap from having our children wash and iron their own clothes to having a society that treats others with respect; but on the other hand, a child who takes responsibility for helping keep a home going just might be one to help a country keep on growing.

Think about it!

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