How Much Work Should a Child Work if a Good Child Should Work Could?

I know, the title is pretty lame, but I thought of it after watching a Wood Chuck in our yard today. (I’m writing this on Saturday.) My son, Shaun, was working (hard) on a project and the wood chuck was diverting Shaun’s attention from the work that needed to be done. I thought of the tongue twister, “How much wood would a wood chuck, chuck, if a wood chuck could chuck wood?”

I had already decided that I would write about our family’s policy for work when our children were growing up. And since there have been many a time we have been asked why our children are such hard workers, I thought I might share our policy.

When our children were in school, their main jobs were to be sure that homework was done because that was their work. In addition, 1/2 hour chore was required each day. During the summer, 1 hour of work was required each day. (Of course, Sunday was and is always observed as a day of rest.) On Saturdays, everyone worked until the work was done and then we played together if plans were such or the children were free to play the things of their choice. If they complained of boredom, they were warned that we could find something more for them to do if they wanted to complain. Thus, they learned to use their free time with discretion. If we announced, “the ox is in the mire,” that meant everyone was needed for a longer period of time and everyone pitched in. Our children would sometimes complain that their friends didn’t have to work but we tried to teach our children that life is not a free ride and since they were a part of our family they needed to work, too. We had to remind them once in a while that if dad or mom decided to quit working, and if other families parents quit working, society would pretty much fall apart. If the children claimed to be too tired or sick to work, we insisted that they must stay in bed and act the part of a sick person. Truly, if the children felt well, it wasn’t long until they wanted to be up helping with the work because it surely beat staying in bed all day.

When the children were old enough to do laundry, they were responsible for their own laundry. Of course, this meant that sometimes the washer and dryer were used non-stop on Saturdays and when the children were teens, clothes were laundered more frequently than we parents thought necessary, but laundry was certainly not a big deal for them when they went to college, on missions, or got married. Cooking was encouraged as soon as the children could read and understand how to follow a recipe. And, if they made messes while cooking, they knew they had to help clean them up, too.

When our sons were old enough, they went to work with Jeff occasionally. (We were blessed to have our own business.) When they turned 16, they worked whenever they could to earn money for their expenses.

I guess our children’s confidence waxed strong in the area of work because it was always part of their life and they learned how much could be accomplished in just 1/2 hour or 1 hour a day. Like anything else, steady and slow accomplishes the goal.