household chores essay

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The Importance of Chores

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Published: Mar 20, 2024

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Responsibility and accountability, contribution to household and community, development of essential life skills, psychological and emotional well-being.

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10 Reasons Why Household Chores Are Important

Whether we like it or not, household chores are a necessary part of everyday life, ensuring that our homes continue to run efficiently, and that our living environments remain organized and clean, thereby promoting good overall health and safety. Involving children in household chores gives them opportunity to become active participant in the house. Kids begin to see themselves as important contributors to the family. Holding children accountable for their chores can increase a sense of themselves as responsible and actually make them more responsible.

Children will feel more capable for having met their obligations and completed their tasks. If you let children off the hook for chores because they have too much schoolwork or need to practice a sport, then you are saying, intentionally or not, that their academic or athletic skills are most important. And if your children fail a test or fail to block the winning shot, then they have failed at what you deem to be most important.

They do not have other pillars of competency upon which to rely. By completing household tasks, they may not always be the star student or athlete, but they will know that they can contribute to the family, begin to take care of themselves, and learn skills that they will need as an adult. Here is a list of household chores for kids:

1. Sense of Responsibility

Kids who do chores learn responsibility and gain important life skills that will serve them well throughout their lives. Kids feel competent when they do their chores. Whether they’re making their bed or they’re sweeping the floor, helping out around the house gives them a sense of accomplishment. Doing daily household chores also helps kids feel like they’re part of the team. Pitching in and helping family members is good for them and it encourages them to be good citizens.

Read here a detail blog: Routine helps kids

2. Beneficial to siblings

It is helpful for siblings of kids who have disabilities to see that everyone in the family participates in keeping the family home running, each with responsibilities that are appropriate for his or her unique skill sets and abilities.

Having responsibilities like chores provides one with a sense of both purpose and accomplishment.

4. Preparation for Employment

Learning how to carry out household chore is an important precursor to employment. Chores can serve as an opportunity to explore what your child excels at and could possibly pursue as a job down the road.

5. Make your life easier

Your kids can actually be of help to you! At first, teaching these chores may require more of your time and energy, but in many cases your child will be able to eventually do his or her chores completely independently, ultimately relieving you of certain responsibilities.

6. Chores may make your child more accountable

If your child realizes the consequences of making a mess, he or she may think twice, knowing that being more tidy in the present will help make chores easier.

7. Develop fine and gross motor skills and planning abilities

Tasks like opening a clothes pin, filling and manipulating a watering can and many more actions are like a workout for the body and brain and provide practical ways to flex those muscles!

8. Teach empathy

Helping others out and making their lives easier is a great way to teach empathy. After your daughter completes a chore, you can praise and thank her, stating, “Wow… great job! Because you helped out, now Mommy has one less job to do. I really appreciate that!”

9. Strengthen bonds with pets

There is a growing body of research about how animals can help individuals with special needs. When your child feeds and cares for his pet, it strengthens their bond and makes your pet more likely to gravitate toward your child.

10. Gain an appreciation and understanding of currency

What better way to teach your child the value of a rupee than by having him earn it. After your child finishes his chores, pay him right away and immediately take him to his favorite toy store where he can buy something he wants.

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Household Chores and Ways to Avoid Them Essay

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It’s another lovely Saturday afternoon, and your lovely couch is beckoning. You feel so tired, and you need to relax your body after a week of hard work. All over sudden, you are lying there feeling the enticing warmth of the couch and getting a well-earned sleep. But wait! Your wife walks in with her authoritative gesture and, like a tyrannical dictator, orders you to help with the household chores. That is the time you have to say good-bye to your beloved couch and hello to the lawnmower.

In order to avoid such calamities, there are a number of useful guidelines, which, if followed, will offer an escape route from the horrific chore monster. Some of these tips have successfully been tried, while others are hypothetical. Nevertheless, they are all constructive (Keller 1; Marx 1).

One of the most famous tactics known globally but never thought to be of great help is camouflage. Camouflage has been used for a very long period of time by the military personnel and is considered the best technique in escaping detection from the enemy radar. This technique can also be used, especially when you do not want to be seen for a certain period of time. This technique is well elaborated in Harry Porter volume 2 and involved wearing a cloak of invisibility (Gyaan 1).

In our case, get yourself a fabric that precisely matches the object you intend to blend into. For instance, putting on clothes or cover yourself with materials that match the couch or bed. If you wish to hide successfully outside, use some materials that match with the lawn. This is basically achieved by covering yourself with these materials and taking a nap beneath them. They will effectively render you invisible to many people except the most suspicious characters. Caution should be taken to make sure that no one steps or sits on you, and if it happens, pray that they are not heavy (Gyaan 1).

Another way of avoiding chores is by using lookalike. It is eminent that every individual has a person who resembles him/her or a “double.” If you want to avoid chores, you should get a lookalike or a person who closely resembles you. These lookalikes are found everywhere, for instance, in church, library, grocery, pet stores, and supermarket, among other places. Once you have identified the right person, make a deal with him/her (Keller 1).

The deal should be that he/she comes into your house and carry out your chores while wearing your clothes. On the other hand, you can take a break from the chores and have a nice time. The deal, in this case, should include payment or any form of reward agreed upon. This look like must be a single person or unmarried. This is because his or her partner may also engage you with other chores diluting the initial purpose (Marx 2).

Another trick of avoiding household chores is the use of a mannequin. This trick can be traced from Conan Doyle’s book “The Adventure of the Empty House.” The mannequins can be bought from the retail stores as long as you are ready to pay the right price. The mannequins can be used in a variety of ways. If your chores involve cleaning cars at home, just dress it in your clothes and keep it in your garage. If your chores involve mowing the lawn, just set the plastic fellow pushing the lawnmower. In this case, you can go out and join your buddies or lazy around. You can put on sunglasses and a hat on the mannequin and leave instructions to one of your neighbors or family member to move it every ten minutes. You will be surprised at how much time you can buy away without being suspected (Marx 2).

An additional trick of avoiding chores is fiddling with the clock. However, this trick is technically more challenging. The trick here is setting the alarm clock in a way that it switches itself on and off without being detected. In this case, you can give an excuse for performing the task at a particular hour, which in reality never really comes, and you are scot-free. I know one friend of mine who pulled off this prank until he was discovered. Presently, their lawn is considered as the most well trimmed in the locality (Gyaan 2).

The most common prank used by many is feigning sickness. Kids learn this trick at a tender age, and without a doubt, almost everybody has used this trick in one way or another. If you do not want to be caught, make sure you vary the sickness every time. The trick won’t work if you insist on one particular illness each and every time there is work. Jot down a number of common illnesses on a piece of paper and pick one randomly each time to make them believe it is real (Keller 2).

Hiding has been used for a long period of time and has proven to be among the most effective methods of avoiding household routine jobs. There are many places to hide, but you simply got to make the wisest choice. Some of the places you can hide include attics, ceilings, closets, out in the garage, in the neighbor’s house, at the backyard, in the wardrobe, among other places that suit you and are safe. The larger the house, of course, the more the hiding places.

There are other tricks of avoiding household chores, including working slowly to avoid additional work, feigning emergency phone calls from the office, faking an old friend who has just arrived in town, and performing poorly, among others (Marx 2).

Other methods of avoiding chores require some form of deception. For instance, if you are asked to perform a particular task, and you don’t feel like doing it, you can deceive your colleague or a member of the family that task was meant for him or her. In this case, you will have plenty of time to do your own things or to enjoy yourself. Another way of avoiding household chores is by pretending to have a lot of work. This trick is common among school-going children. Most of them pretend to have a lot of homework or exams the following day and therefore need more time to finish their work or revise for the exams (Keller 2).

In summary, there are numerous ways of avoiding household chores; some of them are mere tricks, while others entail deception. Some of these tricks are practicable, and others are technically hard to achieve. For instance, the use of camouflage, lookalikes, the fiddling of alarm clocks, and the use of mannequins is very rare. On the other hand, feigning illness, hiding, feigning injury, and excess work is very common since they are very easy to achieve.

Some tricks are easily detectable, while others are difficult to suspect. Therefore, it is upon you to choose the best trick that suites the occasion. Believe me or not, most of these tricks are detectable; if you do away with it today, sooner or later, you will be discovered. But in the meantime, enjoy yourself with the small respite from the monster chores.

Gyaan, Aditya. How to Avoid Doing Chores. 2008. Web.

Keller, Helen. How to Avoid Doing Household. 2009. Web.

Marx, Woody. Tips for Men: How to Get Out Of Doing Home Chores . 2009. Web.

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Family Work

The daily work of families—the ordinary hands-on labor of sustaining life—has the power to bind us together.

By Kathleen Slaugh Bahr and Cheri A. Loveless in the Spring 2000 Issue

Illustrations by Rich Lillash

I grew up in a little town in Northern Utah, the oldest daughter in a family of 13 children. We lived on a small two-and-a-half-acre farm with a large garden, fruit trees, and a milk cow. We children loved helping our dad plant the garden, following behind him like little quail as he cut the furrow with his hoe and we dropped in the seeds. Weeding was less exciting, but it had to be done. I was never very good at milking the cow. Fortunately, my brothers shared that task.

In the autumn, we all helped with the harvest. I especially loved picking and bottling the fruit. It required the hands of all 13 of us plus Mom and Dad. We children swarmed through the trees picking the fruit. My dad would fire up an old camp stove where we heated the water to scald the fruit. My mother supervised putting the fruit in jars, adding the sugar, putting on the lids. My youngest sister remembers feeling very important because she had hands small enough to turn the peach halves if they fell into the jars upside downand they usually did. When the harvest was complete, I loved looking at the freezer full of vegetables and all the jars of fruit. They looked like jewels to me.

Caring for our large family kept all of us busy most of the time. Mother was the overseer of the inside work, and Dad the outside, but I also remember seeing my father sweep floors, wash dishes, and cook meals when his help was needed. As children we often worked together, but not all at the same task. While we worked we talked, sang, quarreled, made good memories, and learned what it meant to be family members, good sons or daughters and fathers or mothers, good Americans, good Christians.

As a young child, I didn’t know there was anything unusual about this life. My father and mother read us stories about their parents and grandparents, and it was clear that both my father and mother had worked hard as children. Working hard was what families did, what they always had done. Their work was “family work,” the everyday, ordinary, hands-on labor of sustaining life that cannot be ignored—feeding one another, clothing one another, cleaning and beautifying ourselves and our surroundings. It included caring for the sick and tending to the tasks of daily life for those who could not do it for themselves. It was through this shared work that we showed our love and respect for each other—and work was also the way we learned to love and respect each other.

“Many social and political forces continue the devaluation of family work.”

When I went to graduate school, I learned that not everyone considered this pattern of family life ideal. At the university, much of what I read and heard belittled family work. Feminist historians reminded us students that men had long been liberated from farm and family work; now women were also to be liberated. One professor taught that assigning the tasks of nurturing children primarily to women was the root of women’s oppression. I was told that women must be liberated from these onerous family tasks so that they might be free to work for money.

Today many social and political forces continue the devaluation of family work, encouraging the belief that family work is the province of the exploited and the powerless. Chief among these forces is the idea that because money is power, one’s salary is the true indication of one’s worth. Another is that the important work of the world is visible and takes place in the public sphere—in offices, factories, and government buildings. According to this ideology, if one wants to make a difference in the world, one must do it through participation in the world of paid work.

Some have tried to convince us of the importance of family work by calling attention to its economic value, declaring, as in one recent study, that a stay-at-home mom’s work is worth more than half a million dollars. 1 But I believe assigning economic value to household work does not translate into an increase in its status or power. In fact, devaluing family work to its mere market equivalent may even have the opposite effect. People who see the value of family work only in terms of the economic value of processes that yield measurable products—washed dishes, baked bread, swept floors, clothed children—miss what some call the “invisible household production” that occurs at the same time, but which is, in fact, more important to family-building and character development than the economic products. Here lies the real power of family work—its potential to transform lives, to forge strong families, to build strong communities. It is the power to quietly, effectively urge hearts and minds toward a oneness known only in Zion.

Illustration of a family picking apples together.

Back to Eden

Family work actually began with Adam and Eve. As best we can discern, they lived a life of relative ease in the Garden of Eden. They “dressed” and “kept” it ( Moses 3:15 ), but it isn’t clear what that entailed since the plants were already flourishing. There were no weeds, and Adam and Eve had no children to prod or cajole into watering or harvesting, if such tasks needed to be done

When they exercised their agency and partook of the fruit, Adam and Eve left their peaceful, labor-free existence and began one of hard work. They were each given a specific area of responsibility, yet they helped each other in their labors. Adam brought forth the fruit of the earth, and Eve worked along with him ( Moses 5:1 ). Eve bore children, and Adam joined her in teaching them ( Moses 5:12 ). They were not given a choice about these two lifetime labors; these were commandments ( Moses 4:22–25 ).

Traditionally, many have considered this need to labor as a curse, but a close reading of the account suggests otherwise. God did not curse Adam; He cursed the ground to bring forth thorns and thistles ( Moses 4:24 ), which in turn forced Adam to labor. And Adam was told, “Cursed shall be the ground for thy sake ” ( vs. 23 , emphasis added). In other words, the hard work of eating one’s bread “by the sweat of thy face” ( vs. 25 ) was meant to be a blessing.

According to the New Testament, the work of bearing and rearing children was also intended as a blessing. Writes the Apostle Paul: “[Eve] shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety” ( 1 Tim. 2:15 , emphasis added). Significantly, Joseph Smith corrected the verse to read, “ They shall be saved in childbearing” ( JST, 1 Tim. 2:15 , emphasis added), indicating that more than the sparing of Eve’s physical life was at issue here. Both Adam and Eve would be privileged to return to their Heavenly Father through the labor of bringing forth and nurturing their offspring.

According to scripture, then, the Lord blessed Adam and Eve (and their descendants) with two kinds of labor that would, by the nature of the work itself, help guarantee their salvation. Both of these labors—tilling the earth for food and laboring to rear children—are family work, work that sustains and nurtures members of a family from one day to the next. But there is more to consider. These labors literally could not be performed in Eden. These are the labors that ensure physical survival; thus, they became necessary only when mankind left a life-sustaining garden and entered a sphere where life was quickly overcome by death unless it was upheld by steady, continual, hard work. Undoubtedly the Lord knew that other activities associated with mortality—like study and learning or developing one’s talents—would also be important. But His initial emphasis, in the form of a commandment, was on that which had the power to bring His children back into His presence, and that was family work.

Since Eden many variations and distortions of the Lord’s original design for earthly labor have emerged. Still, the general pattern has remained dominant among many peoples of the earth, including families who lived in the United States at the turn of the last century. Mothers and fathers, teenagers and young children cared for their land, their animals, and for each other with their own hands. Their work was difficult, and it filled almost every day of their lives. But they recognized their family work as essential, and it was not without its compensations. It was social and was often carried out at a relaxed pace and in a playful spirit.

“The wrenching apart of work and home-life is one of the great themes in social history.”

Yet, long before the close of the 19th century this picture of families working together was changing. People realized that early death was often related to the harshness of their daily routine. Also, many young people longed for formal schooling or to pursue scientific careers or vocations in the arts, life courses that were sometimes prevented by the necessity of hard work. Industrialization promised to free people from the burden of domestic labor. Many families abandoned farm life and crowded into tenement housing in the cities to take jobs in factories. But factory work was irregular. Most families lived in poverty and squalor, and disease was common.

Reformers of the day sought to alleviate these miseries. In the spirit of the times, many of them envisioned a utopian world without social problems, where scientific inventions would free humans from physical labor, and modern medicine would eliminate disease and suffering. Their reforms eventually transformed work patterns throughout our culture, which in turn changed the roles of men, women, and children within the family unit.

By the turn of the century, many fathers began to earn a living away from the farm and the household. Thus, they no longer worked side by side with their children. Where a son once forged ties with his father as he was taught how to run the farm or the family business, now he could follow his father’s example only by distancing himself from the daily work of the household, eventually leaving home to do his work. Historian John Demos notes:

The wrenching apart of work and home-life is one of the great themes in social history. And for fathers, in particular, the consequences can hardly be overestimated. Certain key elements of pre-modern fatherhood dwindled and disappeared (e.g., father as pedagogue, father as moral overseer, father as companion). . . .

Of course, fathers had always been involved in the provision of goods and services to their families; but before the nineteenth century such activity was embedded in a larger matrix of domestic sharing. . . . Now, for the first time, the central activity of fatherhood was cited outside one’s immediate household. Now, being fully a father meant being separated from one’s children for a considerable part of every working day. 2

By the 1950s fathers were gone such long hours they became guests in their own homes. The natural connection between fathers and their children was supposed to be preserved and strengthened by playing together. However, play, like work, also changed over the course of the century, becoming more structured, more costly, and less interactive.

Initially, the changing role of women in the family was more subtle because the kind of work they did remained the same. Yet how their tasks were carried out changed drastically over the 20th century, influenced by the modernization of America’s factories and businesses. “Housewives” were encouraged to organize, sterilize, and modernize. Experts urged them to purchase machines to do their physical labor and told them that market-produced goods and services were superior because they freed women to do the supposedly more important work of the mind.

Women were told that applying methods of factory and business management to their homes would ease their burdens and raise the status of household work by “professionalizing” it. Surprisingly, these innovations did neither. Machines tended to replace tasks once performed by husbands and children, while mothers continued to carry out the same basic duties. Houses and wardrobes expanded, standards for cleanliness increased, and new appliances encouraged more elaborate meal preparation. More time was spent shopping and driving children to activities. With husbands at work and older children in school, care of the house and young children now fell almost exclusively to mothers, actually lengthening their work day. 3 Moreover, much of a mother’s work began to be done in isolation. Work that was once enjoyable because it was social became lonely, boring, and monotonous.

Even the purpose of family work was given a facelift. Once performed to nurture and care for one another, it was reduced to “housework” and was done to create “atmosphere.” Since work in the home had “use value” instead of “exchange value,” it remained outside the market economy and its worth became invisible. Being a mother now meant spending long hours at a type of work that society said mattered little and should be “managed” to take no time at all.

Prior to modernization, children shared much of the hard work, laboring alongside their fathers and mothers in the house and on the farm or in a family business. This work was considered good for them—part of their education for adulthood. Children were expected to learn all things necessary for a good life by precept and example, and it was assumed that the lives of the adults surrounding them would be worthy of imitation.

With industrialization, children joined their families in factory work, but gradually employers split up families, often rejecting mothers and fathers in favor of the cheap labor provided by children. Many children began working long hours to help put bread on the family table. Their work was hard, often dangerous, and children lost fingers, limbs, and lives. The child labor movement was thus organized to protect the “thousands of boys and girls once employed in sweat shops and factories” from “the grasping greed of business.” 4 However, the actual changes were much more complex and the consequences more far-reaching. 5 Child labor laws, designed to end the abuses, also ended child labor.

At the same time that expectations for children to work were diminishing, new fashions in child rearing dictated that children needed to have their own money and be trained to spend it wisely. Eventually, the relationship of children and work inside the family completely reversed itself: children went from economic asset to pampered consumer.

“In almost every facet of our prosperous, contemporary lifestyle, we strive for the ease associated with Eden. . . . Back to Eden is not onward to Zion.”

Thus, for each family member the contribution to the family became increasingly abstract and ever distant from the labor of Adam and Eve, until the work given as a blessing to the first couple had all but disappeared. Today a man feels “free” if he can avoid any kind of physical labor—actual work in the fields is left to migrant workers and illegal aliens. Meanwhile, a woman is considered “free” if she chooses a career over mothering at home, freer still if she elects not to bear children at all.

In almost every facet of our prosperous, contemporary lifestyle, we strive for the ease associated with Eden. The more abstract and mental our work, the more distanced from physical labor, the higher the status it is accorded. Better off still is the individual who wins the lottery or inherits wealth and does not have to work at all. Our homes are designed to reduce the time we must spend in family work. An enviable vacation is one where all such work is done for us—where we are fed without preparing our meals, dressed without ironing our shirts, cleaned up after wherever we go, whatever we do.

Even the way we go about building relationships denies the saving power inherent in working side by side at something that requires us to cooperate in spite of differences. Rather, we “bond” with our children by getting the housework out of the way so the family can participate in structured “play.” We improve our marriages by getting away from the house and kids, from responsibility altogether, to communicate uninterrupted as if work, love, and living were not inseparably connected. We are so thoroughly convinced that the relationship itself, abstract and apart from life, is what matters that, a relationship free from lasting obligations—to marriage, children, or family labor—is fast becoming the ideal. At every turn, we are encouraged to seek an Eden-like bliss where we enjoy life’s bounties without working for them and where we don’t have to have children, at least not interrupting whatever we’re doing. 6

However, back to Eden is not onward to Zion. Adam and Eve entered mortality to do what they could not do in the Garden: to gain salvation by bringing forth, sustaining, and nourishing life. As they worked together in this stewardship, with an eye single to the glory of God, a deep and caring relationship would grow out of their shared daily experience. Today, the need for salvation has not changed; the opportunity to do family work has not changed; the love that blossoms as spouses labor together has not changed. Perhaps, then, we are still obligated to do the work of Adam and Eve.

Illustration of father and son washing a window.

For Our Sakes

The story of Adam and Eve raises an important question. How does ordinary, family-centered work like feeding, clothing, and nurturing a family—work that often seems endless and mundane—actually bless our lives? The answer is so obvious in common experience that it has become obscure: Family work links people. On a daily basis, the tasks we do to stay alive provide us with endless opportunities to recognize and fill the needs of others. Family work is a call to enact love, and it is a call that is universal. Throughout history, in every culture, whether in poverty or prosperity, there has been the ever-present need to shelter, clothe, feed, and care for each other.

Ironically, it is the very things commonly disliked about family work that offer the greatest possibilities for nurturing close relationships and forging family ties. Some people dislike family work because, they say, it is mindless. Yet chores that can be done with a minimum of concentration leave our minds free to focus on one another as we work together. We can talk, sing, or tell stories as we work. Working side by side tends to dissolve feelings of hierarchy, making it easier for children to discuss topics of concern with their parents. Unlike play, which usually requires mental concentration as well as physical involvement, family work invites intimate conversation between parent and child.

We also tend to think of household work as menial, and much of it is. Yet, because it is menial, even the smallest child can make a meaningful contribution. Children can learn to fold laundry, wash windows, or sort silverware with sufficient skill to feel valued as part of the family. Since daily tasks range from the simple to the complex, participants at every level can feel competent yet challenged, including the parents with their overall responsibility for coordinating tasks, people, and projects into a cooperative, working whole.

Another characteristic of ordinary family work that gives it such power is repetition. Almost as quickly as it is done, it must be redone. Dust gathers on furniture, dirt accumulates on floors, beds get messed up, children get hungry and dirty, meals are eaten, clothes become soiled. As any homemaker can tell you, the work is never done. When compared with the qualities of work that are prized in the public sphere, this aspect of family work seems to be just another reason to devalue it. However, each rendering of a task is a new invitation for all to enter the family circle. The most ordinary chores can become daily rituals of family love and belonging. Family identity is built moment by moment amidst the talking and teasing, the singing and storytelling, and even the quarreling and anguish that may attend such work sessions.

Some people also insist that family work is demeaning because it involves cleaning up after others in the most personal manner. Yet, in so doing, we observe their vulnerability and weaknesses in a way that forces us to admit that life is only possible day-to-day by the grace of God. We are also reminded of our own dependence on others who have done, and will do, such work for us. We are reminded that when we are fed, we could be hungry; when we are clean, we could be dirty; and when we are healthy and strong, we could be feeble and dependent. Family work is thus humbling work, helping us to acknowledge our unavoidable interdependence; encouraging (even requiring) us to sacrifice “self” for the good of the whole.

God gave us family work as a link to one another, as a link to Him, as a stepping stone toward salvation that is always available and that has the power to transform us spiritually as we transform others physically. This daily work of feeding and clothing and sheltering each other is perhaps the only opportunity all humanity has in common. Whatever the world takes from us, it cannot take away the daily maintenance needed for survival. Whether we find ourselves in wealth, poverty, or struggling as most of us do in day-to-day mediocrity, we need to be fed, to be clothed, to be sheltered, to be clean. And so does our neighbor.

When Christ instituted one of the most sacred of ordinances, one still performed today among the apostles, what symbolism did He choose? Of all the things He could have done as He prepared His apostles for His imminent death and instructed them on how to become one, He chose the washing of feet—a task ordinarily done in His time by the most humble of servants. When Peter objected, thinking that this was not the kind of work someone of Christ’s earthly, much less eternal stature would be expected to do, Christ made clear the importance of participating: “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me” ( John 13:8 ).

So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.

For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. ( John 13:12–15 )

And so for our sakes this work seems mindless, menial, repetitive, and demeaning. This daily toiling is in honor of life itself. After all, isn’t this temporal work of tending to the necessary and routine currents of daily life, whether for our families or for our neighbors, the work we really came to Earth to do? By this humble service—this washing of one another’s feet—we sacrifice our pride and invite God to wash our own souls from sin. Indeed, such work embodies within it the condescension of the Savior himself. It is nothing less than doing unto Christ, by serving the least of our brethren, what He has already done for us.

Illustration of mother and daughter mopping the floor together.

Family Work in Modern Times

If family work is indeed what I say it is—a natural invitation to become Christlike devalued by a world that has shattered family relationships in its quest for gain and ease—what can be done? Families working harmoniously together at a relaxed pace is a wonderful ideal, but what about the realities of our day? Men do work away from home, and many feel out-of-step when it comes to family work. Children do go to school, and between homework and other activities do not welcome opportunities to work around the house. Whether mothers are employed outside the home or not, they often live in exhaustion, doing most of the family work without willing help.

Yet we cannot go back to a pre-industrial society where hard family work was unavoidable, nor would it be desirable or appropriate to do so.

Life for most people may have changed over the century, but opportunities to instill values, develop character, and work side by side remain. We have all seen how times of crises call forth such effort—war, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods—all disasters no one welcomes, but they provide opportunities for us to learn to care for one another. In truth, opportunities are no less available in our ordinary daily lives.

The length of this article does not allow for the discussion we really need to have at this point, and there will never be “five easy steps” to accomplish these ends. Rather, the eternal principles that govern family work will be uncovered by each of us according to our personal time line of discovery. The following, however, are several ideas that may be helpful.

Tilling the Soil.

Although tilling the soil for our sustenance is unrealistic for most Americans today, modern prophets have stressed the need to labor with the earth, if only in a small way. Former LDS Church President Spencer W. Kimball was particularly insistent on the need to grow gardens–not just as a food supply, but because of the “lessons of life” inherent in the process as well as the family bonds that could be strengthened:

I hope that we understand that, while having a garden, for instance, is often useful in reducing food costs and making available delicious fresh fruits and vegetables, it does much more than this. Who can gauge the value of that special chat between daughter and Dad as they weed or water the garden? How do we evaluate the good that comes from the obvious lessons of planting, cultivating, and the eternal law of the harvest? And how do we measure the family togetherness and cooperating that must accompany successful canning? Yes, we are laying up resources in store, but perhaps the greater good is contained in the lessons of life we learn as we live providently and extend to our children their pioneer heritage. (Emphasis in original.) 7

Exemplifying the Attitudes We Want Our Children to Have.

Until we feel about family work the way we want our children to feel about it, we will teach them nothing. If we dislike this work, they will know it. If we do not really consider it our work, they will know it. If we wish to hurry and get it out of the way or if we wish we were doing it alone so it could better meet our standards, they will know it. Most of us have grown up with a strong conviction that we are fortunate to live at a time when machines and prosperity and efficient organizational skills have relieved us of much of the hands-on work of sustaining daily life. If we wish to change our family habits on this matter, we must first change our own minds and hearts.

Refusing Technology That Interferes With Togetherness.

As we labor together in our families, we will begin to cherish certain work experiences, even difficult ones, for reasons we can’t explain. When technology comes along that streamlines that work, we need not rush out and buy it just because it promises to make our labor more efficient. Saving time and effort is not always the goal. When we choose to heat convenience foods in the microwave or to process vegetables in a noisy machine, we choose not to talk, laugh, and play as we peel and chop. Deciding which modern conveniences to live with is a personal matter. Some families love washing dishes together by hand; others would never give up the dishwasher. Before we accept a scientific “improvement,” we should ask ourselves what we are giving up for what we will gain.

Insisting Gently That Children Help.

A frequent temptation in our busy lives today is to do the necessary family work by ourselves. A mother, tired from a long day of work in the office, may find it easier to do the work herself than to add the extra job of getting a family member to help. A related temptation is to make each child responsible only for his own mess, to put away his own toys, to clean his own room, to do his own laundry, and then to consider this enough family work to require of a child. When we structure work this way, we may shortchange ourselves by minimizing the potential for growing together that comes from doing the work for and with each other.

Canadian scholars Joan Grusec and Lorenzo Cohen, along with Australian Jacqueline Goodnow, compared children who did “self-care tasks” such as cleaning up their own rooms or doing their own laundry, with children who participated in “family-care tasks” such as setting the table or cleaning up a space that is shared with others. They found that it is the work one does “for others” that leads to the development of concern for others, while “work that focuses on what is one’s ‘own,’” does not. Other studies have also reported a positive link between household work and observed actions of helpfulness toward others. In one international study, African children who did “predominantly family-care tasks [such as] fetching wood or water, looking after siblings, running errands for parents” showed a high degree of helpfulness while “children in the Northeast United States, whose primary task in the household was to clean their own room, were the least helpful of all the children in the six cultures that were studied.” 8

Avoiding a Business Mentality at Home.

Even with the best of intentions, most of us revert to “workplace” skills while doing family work. We overorganize and believe that children, like employees, won’t work unless they are “motivated,” supervised, and perhaps even paid. This line of thought will get us into trouble. Some managing, of course, is necessary and helpful—but not the kind that oversees from a distance. Rather, family work should be directed with the wisdom of a mentor who knows intimately both the task and the student, who appreciates both the limits and the possibilities of any given moment. A common error is to try to make the work “fun” with a game or contest, yet to chastise children when they become naturally playful (“off task,” to our thinking). Fond family memories often center around spontaneous fun while working, like pretending to be maids, drawing pictures in spilled flour, and wrapping up in towels to scrub the floor. Another error is to reward children monetarily for their efforts. According to financial writer Grace Weinstein, “Unless you want your children to think of you as an employer and of themselves not as family members but as employees, you should think long and hard about introducing money as a motivational force. Money distorts family feeling and weakens the members’ mutual support.” 9

Working Side by side With Our Children.

Assigning family work to our children while we expect to be free to do other activities only reinforces the attitudes of the world. LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “Children need to work with their parents, to wash dishes with them, to mop floors with them, to mow lawns, to prune trees and shrubbery, to paint and fix up, to clean up, and to do a hundred other things in which they will learn that labor is the price of cleanliness, progress, and prosperity.” 10

Most of the important lessons that flow from family work are derived from the cooperative nature of the work. Christ said, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” ( John 5:19 ). Perhaps this concept is more literal than we have assumed.

Several years ago one of my students, a young mother of two daughters, wrote of the challenges she experienced learning to feel a strong bond with her firstborn. Because this daughter was born prematurely, she was taken from her mother and kept in isolation at the hospital for the first several weeks of her life. Even after the baby came home, she looked so fragile that the mother was afraid to hold her. She felt many of the inadequacies typical of new mothers, plus additional ones that came from her own rough childhood experiences. As time passed, she felt that she loved her daughter, but suffered feelings of deficiency, often to the point of tears, and wondered, “Why don’t I have that ‘natural bond’ with my first child that I do with my second?”

Then she learned about the idea of working together as a means to build bonds. She purposely included her daughter in her work around the house, and gradually, she recalls, “our relationship . . . deepened in a way that I had despaired of ever realizing.” She describes the moment she realized the change that had taken place:

One morning before the girls were to leave [to visit family in another state], Mandy and I were sitting and folding towels together, chattering away. As I looked at her, a sudden rush of maternal love flooded over me–it was no longer something that I had to work at. She looked up at me and must have read my heart in my expression. We fell laughing and crying into each other’s arms. She looked up at me and said, “Mom, what would you do without me?” I couldn’t even answer her, because the thought was too painful to entertain. 11

In a world that lauds the signing of peace treaties and the building of skyscrapers as the truly great work, how can we make such a big thing out of folding laundry? Gary Saul Morson, a professor of Russian literature at Northwestern University, argues convincingly that “the important events are not the great ones, but the infinitely numerous and apparently inconsequential ordinary ones, which, taken together, are far more effective and significant.” 12

To Bring Again Zion

Family work is a gift from the Lord to every mortal, a gift that transcends time, place, and circumstance. On a daily basis it calls us, sometimes forces us, to face our mortality, to ask for the grace of God, to admit that we need our neighbor and that our neighbor needs us. It provides us with a daily opportunity to recognize the needs of those around us and put them before our own. This invitation to serve one another in oneness of heart and mind can become a simple tool that, over time, will bring the peace that attends Zion.

I learned firsthand of the power of this ordinary work not only to bind families but to link people of different cultures when I accompanied a group of university students on a service and study experience in Mexico. The infant mortality rate in many of the villages was high, and we had been invited by community leaders to teach classes in basic nutrition and sanitation. Experts who had worked in developing countries told us that the one month we had to do this was not enough time to establish rapport and win the trust of the people, let alone do any teaching. But we did not have the luxury of more time.

In the first village, we arrived at the central plaza where we were to meet the leaders and families of the village. On our part, tension was high. The faces of the village men and women who slowly gathered were somber and expressionless. They are suspicious of us, I thought. A formal introduction ceremony had been planned. The village school children danced and sang songs, and our students sang. The expressions on the faces of the village adults didn’t change.

“Helping one another nurture children, care for the land, prepare food, and clean homes can bind lives together.”

Unexpectedly, I was invited to speak to the group and explain why we were there. What could I say? That we were “big brother” here to try to change the ways they had farmed and fed their families for hundreds of years? I quickly said a silent prayer, desirous of dispelling the feeling of hierarchy, anxious to create a sense of being on equal footing. I searched for the right words, trying to downplay the official reasons for our visit, and began, “We are students; we want to share some things we have learned. . . .” Then I surprised even myself by saying, “But what we are really here for is, we would like to learn to make tortillas.” The people laughed. After the formalities were over, several wonderful village couples came to us and said, “You can come to our house to make tortillas.” The next morning, we sent small groups of students to each of their homes, and we all learned to make tortillas. An almost instant rapport was established. Later, when we began classes, they were surprisingly well attended, with mothers sitting on the benches and fathers standing at the back of the hall listening and caring for little children.

Because our classes were taking time from the necessary work of fertilizing and weeding their crops, we asked one of the local leaders if we could go to the fields with them on the days when we did not teach and help them hoe and spread the fertilizer. His first response was, “No. You couldn’t do that. You are teachers; we are farmers.” I assured him that several of us had grown up on farms, that we could tell weeds from corn and beans, and in any case, we would be pleased if they would teach us. So we went to the fields. As we worked together, in some amazing way we became one. Artificial hierarchies dissolved as we made tortillas together, weeded together, ate lunch together, and together took little excursions to enjoy the beauty of the valley. When the month was over, our farewells were sad and sweet—we were sorry to leave such dear friends, but happy for the privilege of knowing them.

Over the next several years I saw this process repeated again and again in various settings. I am still in awe of the power of shared participation in the simple, everyday work of sustaining life. Helping one another nurture children, care for the land, prepare food, and clean homes can bind lives together. This is the power of family work, and it is this power, available in every home, no matter how troubled, that can end the turmoil of the family, begin to change the world, and bring again Zion.

Study by Edelman Financial Services, May 5, 1999, (see https://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content5/mothers.worth.html ).
John Demos, “The Changing Faces of Fatherhood,” Past, Present, Personal: The Family and the Life Course in American History (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986), pp. 51–52.
See R. S. Cowan, More Work for Mother: The Ironies of Household Technology from the Open Hearth to the Microwave (New York: Basic Books, 1983).
William A. McKeever, “The New Child Labor Movement,” Journal of Home Economics , vol. 5 (April 1913), pp. 137–139.
See Viviana A. Zelizer, Pricing the Priceless Child (New York: Basic Books, 1985).
See Germaine Greer, Sex and Destiny (New York: Harper & Row, 1984), and J. Van de Kaa, “Europe’s Second Demographic Transition,” Population Bulletin , vol. 42, no. 1 (March 1987), pp. 1–57.
Spencer W. Kimball, “Welfare Services, The Gospel in Action,” Ensign , November 1977, p. 78.
Joan E. Grusec, Jacqueline J. Goodnow, and Lorenzo Cohen, “Household Work and the Development of Concern for Others,” Developmental Psychology , vol. 32, no. 6 (1996), pp. 999–1007.
Grace W. Weinstein, “Money Games Parents Play,” Redbook , August 1985, p. 107, taken from her book Children and Money: A Parents’ Guide (New York: New American Library, 1985).
Gordon B. Hinckley, “Four Simple Things to Help Our Families and Our Nations,” Ensign , September 1996, p. 7.
Michelle Cottingham, unpublished paper.
Gary Saul Morson, “Prosaics: An Approach to the Humanities,” American Scholar , vol. 57 (Autumn 1988), p. 519.

A mother bends down as she helps her daughter pump up a bicycle tire.

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Household Chores

Benefits of Sharing Household Chores: What You Didn’t Know

March 6, 2024

By Liz Harrison

Say goodbye to the unquestioned era of solo chore-doing.

Consider a time-tested tradition: the lone weekday warrior, battling an ever-mounting stack of dishes or worse, that persistent beast of the household known as laundry. It’s a tale as old as time, but what if we’ve been missing a crucial plot twist?

Sharing is caring – a simple lesson most of us learned in kindergarten. But how does this principle apply when it comes to household chores? Are we overlooking the potential benefits of splitting those monotonous tasks between family members, roommates, or partners?

Hold onto your dishcloths, because we’re exploring the significant benefits of sharing household chores. It’s a journey that takes us through better time management, improved relationships, and even enhanced personal well-being. So, roll up your sleeves and prepare to see the humble household chore in an entirely new light.

Unraveling the Benefits of Sharing Household Chores

Household task sharing enhances relationship satisfaction
Promotes a sense of fairness and equality

We bring to light two lesser-known yet substantial benefits.

Boosting Relationship Quality and Satisfaction

Sharing chores at home cultivates not only cleanliness but also affection among family members. Living together requires us to put the concept of division of labor into practice, thus enhancing mutual understanding.

One of the unseen benefits of sharing house jobs is the increased relationship satisfaction it fosters. If you’ve ever felt the spark of connection brighten when your partner or roommate pitches in to tidy up the room, you’ve probably experienced this first hand. Rather than assigning the “messy” tasks to one person and brewing resentment, shared duties distribute the load and raise the emotional temperature of the household.

That shared duties translate to better relationship quality is not about reducing physical exhaustion but sprouting seeds of cooperation and shared responsibility. When couples divvy up household jobs, they further strengthen their shared commitment to maintain their shared space. How you split your tasks might need some negotiation. But once a mutually agreed pattern is established, it acts as a silent pact ingraining mutual respect.

Promoting Equality and Fairness

A home where household duties are distributed fairly sets the groundwork for an environment that advances equality. In an era where we’re constantly striving to erase gender stereotypes and instill egalitarian values, sharing domestic tasks becomes an essential practice.

When domestic duties are equally distributed, it implies that everyone contributes their time and effort, everyone is seen, and everyone’s work is valued. This generates a feeling of equality and fairness within a home—everyone’s equally involved in maintaining the living space.

Remember, a fair task division doesn’t always mean a 50-50 split. It could mean dividing work according to the availability, expertise, or preference of each person. The heart of the matter is that all members of the household feel their contributions are significant and valued equally, thus lifting up the overall household environment.

Sharing chores within the household not only paves the way for a cleaner environment but also sows seeds for better relationships and an atmosphere of fairness. Consider this as you approach your shared living spaces and remember the hidden benefits that ‘cleaning up together’ holds.

The Impact of Sharing Chores on Children

Sharing chores cultivates responsibility and essential life skills
It promotes teamwork and cooperation among children

Developing Responsibility and Life Skills

Sharing chores from an early age plays a pivotal role in the development of children. Responsibilities like tidying a room, doing laundry, or cooking simple meals are more than just tasks. They serve as a platform where children can learn valuable life skills.

First and foremost, the process of executing chores successfully requires a degree of organization. Children must prioritize their tasks, manage time effectively, and remain focused to complete their chores, instilling discipline and responsibility.

In addition to discipline, chores also impart practical skills. Familiarity with basic cooking, cleaning, and laundry provides children with the self-reliance and competence they’ll need in their adult life. It’s a practical aspect of education rarely taught in schools but universally essential.

Last but not least, chores prepare children for the world of work. They expose them to the concept of shared responsibility, consistent tasks, and the satisfaction of a job well done. In the grand scheme of things, these small tasks contribute significantly to character development.

Fostering Teamwork and Cooperation

The impact of sharing chores isn’t just individual—there’s a communal effect too. Household chores often involve multiple members, fostering an environment of teamwork and cooperation.

When children share chores, they have to communicate and collaborate. Allocating tasks, coordinating efforts, and resolving conflicts are all part and parcel of sharing chores. These social skills are invaluable, and what better place for children to learn them than at home?

Moreover, chores bring equality into the mix. Shared chores teach children that everyone in the family has a role to play, regardless of age or gender. This can help dismantle traditional stereotype roles and gender biases, promoting equal contributions from everyone in the household.

Importantly, shared chores also foster a sense of belonging. When children participate in chores, they feel more invested in the family unit, enhancing their emotional bond with other family members.

Sharing chores isn’t just about lightening the load—it’s about fostering responsibility and teamwork in children, effectively preparing them for the future. In the grand scheme of things, these benefits are priceless.

How to Encourage Sharing of Household Chores

Discover key strategies to help promote a collaborative environment at home
Uncover the significance of demonstrating good habits
Learn practical tips to transform chores from mundane tasks to engaging activities

Setting a Good Example

The culture of sharing starts from setting the right example. As organizational leaders or parents, your actions often speak louder than your words.

Heading into the specifics, one effective method involves openly communicating the concept of equitable workloads. This requires not just assigning tasks, but also participating in those very chores to show solidarity and cooperation. This strategy reinforces the notion of shared responsibilities, demonstrating that no job is too menial or insignificant for any member of the group.

Furthermore, fostering an atmosphere of accountability can help ensure everyone remains committed to their tasks. When people see you taking responsibility for your share of work, it instills in them a greater sense of duty towards their own chores.

Celebrating Shared Successes

Creating a culture that celebrates shared successes is another way of setting a good example. Recognize efforts made by team members, be it finishing a difficult task or consistently meeting their responsibilities. This form of positive reinforcement creates a sense of accomplishment and further encourages participation in shared tasks.

Making Chores Fun and Rewarding

Believe it or not, chores don’t have to be boring. Infusing a little fun and creativity into mundane tasks can make them more enjoyable.

Firstly, consider turning chores into mini-challenges or games. For instance, time-based tasks like “who can clean their room the fastest?” generate a fun and competitive environment that makes tedious tasks more engaging.

Secondly, link completion of chores to rewards, like movie nights, dessert treats, or special outings. These incentives not only create a sense of motivation but also associate the completion of chores with positive experiences.

Apps like Hire and Fire your Kids which introduce a monetary reward have the added benefit of teaching children money management skills which they will find essential in later life.

Creating a Task Rotation System

A task rotation system could be one of the ways to make chores more enjoyable. This system prevents monotony and offers a chance to learn new skills. Everyone gets to try different tasks, ensuring variety and fair distribution of work.

By implementing such strategies, you can transform your household chores into more than just jobs that need to be done. It becomes a shared responsibility that promotes cooperation, teaching important life lessons along the way. You’ll not just have a clean home; you’ll also have a happy, harmonious one!

Understanding the Psychological Benefits of Sharing Chores

Less stress and overwhelm by sharing the load
Completion of tasks provides a sense of accomplishment

Reducing Stress and Overwhelm

Sharing household chores, more than just a way to lighten the physical load, brings with it a significant psychological benefit – stress reduction. When a single person is responsible for the entirety of home maintenance tasks, it often leads to a feeling of overwhelm and pressure.

However, how does sharing tasks help reduce stress? Firstly, having more hands involved means fewer tasks per person, making the workload manageable. This results in less worry about trying to fit all chores into a busy schedule, eliminating the inevitable pressure cooker scenario that comes with an overloaded task list.

Secondly, when household chores are divided among the home’s occupants, each gets their fair share of responsibility. It fosters a team-working environment, where everyone contributes equally. This sense of team spirit reduces both individual and collective stress levels, promoting a more congenial environment.

Promoting a Sense of Accomplishment

Everyone loves the sense of accomplishment from ticking off a to-do list, don’t they? Interestingly, a well-known psychological benefit derived from sharing household chores closely relates to this wonderful feeling.

When we complete a task, our brain releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine, also known as ‘the reward molecule’ – which triggers a feel-good sensation. This is why, upon finishing a set task, be it a work deadline or a home chore, we often feel a sense of pride and satisfaction.

Therefore, by carrying out household tasks and completing them, we are setting ourselves up for regular ‘doses’ of achievement-infused happiness. But here’s the surprising part – this isn’t a benefit solely reserved for adults. Children too enjoy a sense of achievement when tasks allocated to them are completed, eventually helping build their self-confidence. For them, it’s like crossing the finish line in a race, and it helps forge their self-image towards being capable and competent.

Whether scrubbing dishes or making beds, every completed chore is a valuable contribution to the household’s well-being. This understanding helps improve everyone’s mental health and promotes a surge in positive emotions. Remember, every little achievement counts!

Debunking Myths About Sharing Household Chores

You are about to learn that chores are not gender-specific, children can equally contribute, and sharing chores doesn’t necessarily lead to arguments.
Get ready to unlearn ingrained beliefs, uncover the truth, and redefine your household chore dynamic.

“Chores are for Women”

Although studies tend to show that women still carry out significantly more household duties than men there is a growing shift to a more balanced division of the domestic load. The encoding of household chores as a feminine responsibility is an outdated stereotype that has no place in the modern era. Routines and responsibilities have since evolved, arguing against this dated notion.

It is no longer unusual for a woman to be in full-time work so why should the household tasks fall to one person simply because of gender? Though there is still progress to be made more men are recognizing the imbalance and doing more to share the domestic labor.

“Children Shouldn’t Do Chores”

Contrary to popular belief, involving children in chores from an early age can be highly beneficial. It fosters a sense of responsibility, teaches essential life skills and promotes independence.

There’s no concrete rule dictating the age at which a child should begin contributing to household tasks. However, age-appropriate tasks can be defined, providing a structure and routine that encourages participation.

“Sharing Chores Leads to Arguments”

While differences in approach can lead to dissatisfaction, the act of sharing chores in itself doesn’t translate into arguments. Open communication, setting expectations, and developing a clear chore division can result in a harmonious household.

Ignoring the myth that sharing chores leads to arguments, the act of sharing can actually strengthen relationships. Psychologist Dr. John Gottman found that couples who shared housework were actually happier and had more satisfying relationships.

Turning the Tide with Shared Chores

Sharing household chores creates a balanced home environment, fosters mutual respect, and encourages communication. It also improves relationships – both personal and professional – through increased understanding.

This egalitarian approach to household tasks is invaluable. It’s an investment in your personal relationships, mental health, and professional success. Moreover, it reduces stress and creates a harmonious living space.

The first step towards this shift? Initiate conversations about shared responsibilities at home. Assign tasks based on skills, preferences, and availability, not gender stereotypes. Experiment with different chores, modify agreements when necessary, and remember: balance is the goal.

Question to mull over: What steps will you take today to ensure fair distribution of chores in your home?

And remember, a home that shares chores isn’t just a tidy home – it’s a happy one.

Ready to get started?

Download the Hire and Fire Your Kids app today and see how fun chores can be!

Essay on Chores At Home

Students are often asked to write an essay on Chores At Home in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Chores At Home

What are chores.

Chores are tasks we do to keep our homes clean and organized. They are like small jobs for every family member. Chores include tidying up, washing dishes, and taking out the trash. Doing these tasks helps everyone share the work at home.

Benefits of Doing Chores

When children help with chores, they learn responsibility and how to take care of themselves. It teaches them to work as a team and to value hard work. Chores also make children feel important because they are contributing to the family.

Types of Chores

There are many kinds of chores. Some are daily, like making your bed or clearing the table. Others happen once a week, like cleaning the floors or doing laundry. Every chore is important to keep the home running smoothly.

Chores and Fun

Chores might not always be fun, but they can be. Families can make chores enjoyable by doing them together or turning them into a game. This way, children can learn and have fun at the same time.

250 Words Essay on Chores At Home

Chores are tasks we do to keep our homes clean and organized. Think of them like helping hands that make our living spaces comfortable and nice. Everyone, from kids to adults, can do chores. They include cleaning, tidying up, and taking care of things around the house.

There are many different chores. Some are done inside, like dusting or vacuuming. Others are outside, like gardening or sweeping the porch. Daily chores are things like making the bed or washing dishes. Weekly chores might be cleaning the bathroom or mopping the floor.

Learning Responsibility

Doing chores teaches us to be responsible. When we have a task, it’s our job to complete it. This helps us learn to take care of our things and manage our time. It also prepares us for life when we’re older because being responsible is a big part of being an adult.

Working Together

Chores can be more fun when we do them with others. Working together with family can make the time pass quickly and the work feel easier. It’s also a great way to spend time with each other and talk about our day.

Rewards of Chores

After chores are done, our home looks nice, which makes us feel good. Sometimes, we might even get a reward like allowance money or extra playtime. But the biggest reward is the proud feeling we get from doing a good job and helping out at home.

500 Words Essay on Chores At Home

Why chores matter.

You might wonder why you have to do chores when you could be playing or watching your favorite show. Chores are important because they teach you how to take care of your own space and be responsible. When you do chores, you learn skills that you will use when you grow up, like cooking and cleaning. These tasks also show you how to work as a team with your family. Everyone living in the house uses the space, so it’s fair that everyone helps to look after it.

Chores can be different in every home, but some common ones are:

Chores for Different Ages

Not all chores are right for all ages. Younger kids might be asked to put away their toys or set the table, while older kids and teenagers might help with cooking or look after their younger siblings. Parents usually give chores that are safe and that you can handle without getting hurt or feeling too stressed.

When you help out with chores, you gain a lot. You learn to manage your time and to do things on your own. Also, when you finish a chore, you can feel proud that you’ve done something useful. It can be fun too! Sometimes, when the whole family is working together, you can talk, laugh, and make the work feel like a game.

Chores and Allowance

Chores at home might not always be fun, but they are a big part of growing up and learning to take care of yourself and your space. Whether it’s making your bed or helping to cook dinner, every chore you do helps your family and teaches you valuable lessons for the future. So next time you’re asked to do a chore, remember that it’s a step towards becoming more responsible and independent.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

Happy studying!

Household Chores

By Natalie Proulx

Sept. 20, 2018

Do you think children should do household chores? Or should their time and energy go toward school and extracurricular activities? Why do you think the way you do?

Do you do chores? How does helping out around the house make you feel?

Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to find out what studies say about children who do housework.

Find many more ways to use our Picture Prompt feature in this lesson plan .

I Created a System to Make Sure My Husband and I Divide Household Duties Fairly. Here’s How It Works

A woman cleans a cup in the kitchen sink at home

I was just pulling up to the departures gate at LAX, where I was catching an early morning flight to my one-day business meeting up in Seattle, when I got the following text from my husband, Seth: Some guy left his jacket and beer bottle on our lawn.

Weird. Gross. And, more importantly, what am I supposed to do about it from the road?

When I returned home 16 hours later and long after the sun had gone down, I’d forgotten about the text until I pulled into my driveway, and there they were sitting in the dark — some guy’s jacket and beer bottle on our lawn. Seriously? I began to seethe. As I unlocked the front door, I quickly tried to work out why.

I was reminded of the many girlfriends who had described “the text” and its spiritual cousin, “the email forward,” as trigger issues in their marriages — a correspondence comes through to both you and your partner from your child’s school, coach, music teacher, doctor’s office or the DMV, and your partner forwards it to you. The implication: I don’t have time to handle this — it’s on you.

That night, standing in the doorway to our bedroom, I understood that my husband expected me to put down my carry-on, grab a trash bag and a pair of rubber gloves, walk outside, pick up the jacket and beer bottle, throw them into the bag, walk the whole thing to the bin in the alley and return home. When I did just that, I made note of how long it took me to do this: 12 minutes. Of my time. That I’ll never get back. I briefly considered these 12 minutes multiplied by thousands of “this is on you” instances required to get through each of my days and began to understand acutely why so many women are running against the clock from the moment we wake up.

What might not be so clear, because it wasn’t to me that night, is: Why was this on me?

Why domestic work falls to women

The answer came to me 12 minutes later when I returned to our bedroom after cleaning up the mess in the front yard, still wearing rubber gloves: Seth was not valuing my time equally to his.

In my day job, I’m a Harvard-trained lawyer and mediator who works with families. But at my own home, I realized, I wasn’t cutting a very good deal for myself. Like so many women — whether they work outside the home or not — I was picking up more than my fair share of the slack in the running of our household . In heterosexual partnerships, women still do the bulk of childcare and domestic work — the National Survey of Families and Households showed that as recently as 2010, married mothers like myself and many of my friends did about 1.9 times the housework of married fathers .

It turned out that my husband (a good guy and progressive in many aspects of our life together — really!) took on less housework after our kids came along , just as a 2015 study in the Journal of Marriage and Family showed is common. I determined to find out why even men like him assume that domestic responsibilities should be so unevenly stacked. In my interviews and conversations on this topic over the last several years with more than 500 people — women and men in straight and same-sex relationships and from all U.S. Census categories in terms of ethnicity and socioeconomic status — overwhelmingly expressed a related idea that contributes to the same outcome: the notion that men’s time is finite and women’s time is infinite. And while women’s time is known to be treated as less valuable in the workplace (see the ongoing battle to achieve equal pay), according to my research, this mental discrepancy where men’s time is guarded as a finite resource (like diamonds) and women’s time is abundant (like sand) can feel even more stark at home and after kids.

So what’s the solution? In an attempt to make visible all the invisible and often unacknowledged work it takes to run a family, I created a document I proudly called the “Sh-t I Do List” that included every single thing I did day-to-day with a quantifiable time component. Tallying every brain-zapping, time-sucking detail of my domestic responsibilities was no small feat, but when I was finished — with the help of women all over the country who wrote in with their own list items — I’d enumerated and categorized 100 household tasks with 20 subtasks that totaled over 1,000 items of invisible work (from laundry to pet care to meal prep to birthday presents) that kept our happy home running smoothly.

When I sent my master list to Seth one triumphant afternoon, expecting a pat on the back (or at least a little recognition for a job well done), he’d texted me back a single emoji: 🙈.

Not even the courtesy of the full trio. Regardless, I got the message — he didn’t want to see, hear or speak of it.

My husband is a smart, caring guy. So why was it so hard for him to understand and appreciate how much extra work I was doing to benefit our family and the home — and the eventual burnout effect it was likely to have on me? Then it hit me: lists alone don’t work; but systems do.

How I fostered more fairness at home

For more than a decade, I’ve consulted with hundreds of families in my professional life by providing my expertise in organizational-management strategy. What if I applied these strategies in my own house by creating a new system in which every task that benefits our home is not only named and counted but also explicitly defined and specifically assigned?

I began to fantasize about what my life and the lives of all of my friends would look like if — in partnership with our spouses — we brought systematic function to what was currently a sh-t show of family dysfunction. I couldn’t think of a couple out there who wouldn’t benefit from a practical plan of action to optimize productivity and efficiency, as well as a new consciousness and language for thinking and talking about domestic life.

The result is a system I termed Fair Play, a figurative game played with your partner, where each partner holds certain “cards” that correspond to domestic tasks. Here are my four easy-to-follow rules that set you up to play.

Rule #1: All time is created equal.

Both partners need to reframe how you value time, and then commit to the goal of rebalancing the hours that domestic work requires between the two of you. The reality is that many straight couples, the mental load will continue to fall on the female partner as the list-maker/planner/household manager until both recognize that time is a limited commodity. You both only have 24 hours in a day. Only when you both believe that your time is equally valuable will the division of labor shift toward parity in your relationship.

Rule #2: Reclaim your right to be interesting .

When your time and your mind become fully focused on the tasks required to run a household, it’s easy to feel like your personal passions aren’t priorities. Both partners deserve to reclaim or discover the interests that make you each uniquely you , beyond your roles as wonderful parents and partners. And Fair Play requires you both to demand time and mental space to explore this right — and to honor that right for each other.

Rule #3: Start where you are now.

You cannot get to where you want to go without first understanding: Who am I? Who am I really in a relationship with? And what is my specific intention for engaging my partner in renegotiating the household workload? Ask yourself: Am I seeking more acknowledgment of everything I do for us? More efficiency so I can have more time for myself? Less resentment and a greater sense of fairness? When you have a clear sense of what you want, you’re more likely to get it. Start the conversation by laying it all out to your partner.

Rule #4: Establish your values and standards .

Take stock of your domestic ecosystem and choose what you want to do in service of the home based on what’s most valuable to you and your partner. Just because you’re in the habit of doing a task doesn’t mean it’s a task that absolutely needs to be done. Maybe you value cooking a homemade breakfast for your child each morning — or maybe, when you and your partner consider what’s most important to you, you decide you’d rather have a few minutes in bed to check in before you start the day, and fruit and yogurt to-go are perfectly fine. After you and your partner determine what “cards” — tasks that must be done because they hold value to your family — are in play, you must mutually agree on a reasonable standard for how those tasks are handled. It’s not enough for your spouse to say he’ll be in charge of the “baseball” card — he has to pack the sports bag with all the necessary gear and snacks, arrange for pick-up and drop-off from practice, make sure all the games are on the family calendar and then show up on the right field at the right time. The more you invest in unpacking the details, the more you will be rewarded.

It didn’t happen overnight, but starting with Rule #1, attitudes started to shift within our home. After the drunk guy’s jacket incident, my husband began to notice and appreciate that we both have the same number of minutes in a day. (The “All Time Is Created Equal” sign that I posted on the bathroom mirror did help to hammer home the point.) It hasn’t always been easy; a shift in thinking takes deliberate effort. Whenever Seth and I would revert to our old, familiar dialogue like, “I don’t have time… so, can you?” or “I don’t have time either, but I guess this is on me,” I’d attempt to reframe the conversation with words that honor and respect how we each choose to spend our finite time. I finally understood that how I’d spent those particular 12 minutes picking up the drunk guy’s jacket and beer bottle was really irrelevant. I wasn’t interested in keeping a minute-by-minute scorecard with my husband; I simply wanted both of us to begin to value our time equally — and to act accordingly.

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Sharing chores a key to good marriage, say majority of married adults

Sharing household chores is an important part of marriage for a majority of married adults. But among those who have children, there are notable differences in perceptions of who actually does more of the work around the house.

More than half of married U.S. adults (56%) – both with and without children – say sharing household chores is “very important” to a successful marriage, according to the most recent report from Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study. That ranks behind having shared interests (64%) and a satisfying sexual relationship (61%), but ahead of having children (43%) and having adequate income (42%).

Among married adults, men are slightly more likely than women to say sharing household chores is very important to a successful marriage (63% vs. 58%). And those ages 18 to 29 (67%) and ages 30 to 49 (63%) are more likely to say sharing chores is very important, compared with 57% of those ages 50 to 64 and 56% of those 65 and older.

According to a separate Pew Research Center survey of American parents conducted in 2015, half of married or cohabiting couples living with at least one child under age 18 say their household chores are split about equally. But 41% say the mother does more, while 8% say the father does more. The workload is seen as somewhat more equitable in households where both parents work full time: 59% of adults in this type of household say chores are divided about equally, while 31% say the mother does more and 9% say the father does more.

To be sure, even among couples where both partners work full time, the number of hours worked may differ significantly, and this could in turn influence how household chores are distributed. Previous research indicates that, among full-time working parents, fathers work more hours, on average, than mothers do.

And indeed, personal earnings, which are linked to hours worked outside the home, are associated with how U.S. parents perceive the way their household chores are split. Those who earn about the same as their partner are more likely to say the division of household labor is about equal (65%) than those who earn less (52%) or more (51%). Among those parents who earn less than their partner, 41% say they personally take on more chores than their partner, while just 6% say their partner does more around the house. And among those who earn more than their partner, 29% say their partner does the larger share of chores, compared with 20% who say they personally do more.

Perceptions about how chores are delegated differ significantly by gender. Fathers are more likely than mothers to say the chores are split about evenly between both partners in their household (56% vs. 46%). Fully half of mothers (50%) say they take up more responsibilities around the house than their partner, compared with just 12% of fathers who say they do more around the house. About one-third of fathers (32%) say their spouse or partner takes on more of the responsibility for chores in their household, compared with just 4% of mothers who say the father does more.

Family & Relationships
Gender Roles
Household Structure & Family Roles
Marriage & Divorce

A.W. Geiger is a former associate digital producer and writer for Pew Research Center .

A growing share of U.S. husbands and wives are roughly the same age

What do americans think about fewer people choosing to have children, the experiences of u.s. adults who don’t have children, what’s new with you what americans talk about with family and friends, same-sex marriage around the world, most popular.

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Household chores: good for children, good for your family

Children can learn a lot from doing household chores.

Doing chores helps children learn about what they need to do to care for themselves, a home and a family. They learn skills they can use in their adult lives, like preparing meals, cleaning, organising and gardening.

Being involved in chores also gives children experience of relationship skills like communicating clearly, negotiating, cooperating and working as a team.

And when children contribute to family life, they might feel competent and responsible . Even if they don’t enjoy the chore, when they keep going they can feel satisfied that they’ve finished the task.

And sharing housework can also help families work better and reduce family stress. When children help out, chores get done sooner, and parents have less to do. This frees up time for the family to do fun things together.

How to get children involved in chores

It’s best to start by choosing chores that work for children’s ages and abilities. Chores that are too hard can be frustrating – or even dangerous – and chores that are too easy might be boring.

Even young children can help with chores if you choose activities that are right for their age. You can start with simple jobs like packing up toys. Chores like this send the message that your child’s contribution is important.

It’s also important to think about chores or tasks that get your child involved in caring for the family as a whole. A simple one is getting your child to help with setting or clearing the table. Jobs like these are likely to give your child a sense of responsibility and participation.

If your child is old enough, you can have a family discussion about chores . This can reinforce the idea that the whole family contributes to how the household runs. Children over 6 years old can have a say in which chores they do.

You can motivate your child to get involved in chores by:

doing the chore together until your child can do it on their own
being clear about each person’s chores for the day or week – write them down so they’re easy to remember
talking about why it’s great that a particular job has been done
showing an interest in how your child has done the job
praising positive behaviour like doing chores without being asked
using a reward chart when you introduce a new chore.

Plenty of encouragement keeps children interested in helping. You can boost your child’s chances of success by explaining the job and telling your child they’re doing well. It’s also a good idea to thank your child for their contribution. This models gratitude and helps your child feel valued.

Pocket money for children’s chores

Some children are motivated to do chores for pocket money. But some families believe all family members have a responsibility to help, so they don’t give pocket money for chores.

If you decide to pay pocket money for chores, explain chores clearly and make sure the chores are regular, so there’s no confusion or bargaining about what needs to be done and when. For example, tell your child that tidying up their bedroom involves making their bed and putting their clothes away, and they need to do this each day.

Some families don’t link chores to pocket money but might pay extra pocket money for extra chores.

Chores for children of different ages

Here are ideas for chores for children of different ages.

Toddlers (2-3 years)

Help to tidy up toys after playtime.
Help to put laundry in the washing machine.
Help to fill a pet’s water bowl.

Preschoolers (4-5 years)

Set the table for meals.
Help to prepare meals, under supervision.
Help to put clean clothes into piles for each family member, ready to fold.
Help to do the grocery shopping and put away groceries.

School-age children and pre-teens (6-11 years)

Water the garden and indoor plants.
Help to hang out clothes and fold washing.
Take out rubbish.
Help to choose meals and do the shopping.
Help to prepare and serve meals, under supervision.
Vacuum or sweep floors.
Clean the bathroom sink, wipe down kitchen benches, or mop floors.
Empty the dishwasher.

Teenagers (12-18 years) Teenagers can do the chores they did when they were younger, but they can be responsible for doing them on their own.

Teenagers can also take on more difficult chores. For example, teenagers could do the washing, clean the bathroom and toilet, mow lawns, stack the dishwasher, do basic grocery shopping, or cook a simple family meal once a week.

When choosing chores for teenagers, think of the skills you’d like them to learn.

You can keep children motivated by letting them change jobs from time to time. This is also a way of rotating chores fairly among family members.

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Household Chores May Be Secret to Living Longer

Study finds they’re just as effective as going to the gym.

Does just thinking about stepping inside a gym make you feel exhausted? If so, here’s some good news. One of the world’s largest studies on physical activity has found that doing household chores can be just as effective as running or working out when it comes to cutting your risk of heart disease and extending your life.

A team of researchers followed 130,000 people in 17 countries, of various income levels, from 2003 to 2010, and discovered that they enjoyed the same health benefits whether they were going to the gym, walking to work or doing household chores . Indeed, performing 30 minutes of any kind of physical activity five days a week could slash your risk of death from any cause by 28 percent and your rate of heart disease by 20 percent.

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And, again, the positive effects were the same whether someone was working out, walking or doing chores such as vacuuming, scrubbing the floor or gardening.

“Walking for as little as 30 minutes most days of the week has a substantial benefit, and higher physical activity is associated with even lower risks,” lead researcher Scott Lear said about the findings, published Friday in The Lancet medical journal .

“By including low and middle-income countries in this study, we were able to determine the benefit of activities such as active commuting, having an active job or even doing housework,” Lear said. He noted that 1 in 4 people worldwide do not get 30 minutes of exercise a day, five times a week.

Interestingly enough, the Canadian study found no ceiling on the benefits of exercise and “no risks associated with extremely high levels of physical activity,” defined as more than 2,500 minutes, or more than 41 hours, per week. Lear said that those who spent more than 750 minutes walking briskly each week lowered their risk of premature death by 36 percent.

Previous studies have underscored the importance of regular physical activity. For example, a study of 1,500 older women published earlier this year found that those who got less than 40 minutes of exercise each day and reported more than 10 hours of daily, sedentary behavior had cells that were eight biological years older than those of their more active contemporaries.

In addition to being physically harmful, too much sitting also might be damaging your brain. Researchers say that the more you move your body, the more alert your brain becomes.

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IELTS essay Benefits of doing and sharing housework

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Essay about household chores
😂 House chores essay. MY HOUSEHOLD CHORES. 2019-02-18
Essay about household chores
Chores / Cleaning the House English Reading: ELL / EFL/ ESL
Learn English Vocabulary: Daily Routines and Household Chores
Household Chores

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Essay on Household Chores
500 Words Essay on Household Chores Introduction. Household chores are tasks that we do to keep our homes neat and tidy. These chores include cleaning, cooking, washing dishes, doing laundry, and many more. They are part of our daily life and play a vital role in maintaining a healthy and organized environment. Types of Household Chores
The Importance of Chores: [Essay Example], 622 words
The Importance of Chores. Chores are often viewed as mundane and tedious tasks, but their importance in personal development and overall well-being cannot be overstated. From an early age, children are taught the value of responsibility and accountability through chores. As individuals grow older, the role of chores in fostering discipline ...
10 Reasons Why Household Chores Are Important
6. Chores may make your child more accountable. If your child realizes the consequences of making a mess, he or she may think twice, knowing that being more tidy in the present will help make chores easier. 7. Develop fine and gross motor skills and planning abilities.
Household Chores and Ways to Avoid Them Essay
In summary, there are numerous ways of avoiding household chores; some of them are mere tricks, while others entail deception. Some of these tricks are practicable, and others are technically hard to achieve. For instance, the use of camouflage, lookalikes, the fiddling of alarm clocks, and the use of mannequins is very rare.
Family Work and Housework: The Chores That Bind Us
Family Work. The daily work of families—the ordinary hands-on labor of sustaining life—has the power to bind us together. I grew up in a little town in Northern Utah, the oldest daughter in a family of 13 children. We lived on a small two-and-a-half-acre farm with a large garden, fruit trees, and a milk cow.
The Household Work Men and Women Do, and Why
They just don't do as much as their female partners. Men do a little more at home — they've doubled the time they spend on housework since 1965, and women now do less — but women still do ...
Household Chores Essay Examples
Browse essays about Household Chores and find inspiration. Learn by example and become a better writer with Kibin's suite of essay help services. Essay Examples
Benefits of Sharing Household Chores: What You Didn't Know
Turning the Tide with Shared Chores. Sharing household chores creates a balanced home environment, fosters mutual respect, and encourages communication. It also improves relationships - both personal and professional - through increased understanding. This egalitarian approach to household tasks is invaluable.
MY HOUSEHOLD CHORES
MY HOUSEHOLD CHORES. There are certain things in life which you have to do whether you like it or not. One of such things is household chores, doing which is a necessity. It is what someone in the family has to do every day in spite of his or her wish and desire. You can hardly find a person who doesn't like comfort, delicious food, clean and ...
Essay on Chores At Home
Chores are tasks we do to keep our homes clean, organized, and running smoothly. They are like little jobs that everyone, from kids to adults, can do to help out around the house. Doing chores is a part of everyday life. It includes things like washing dishes, cleaning rooms, taking out the trash, and helping with laundry.
Household Chores
Share full article. 37. Natalie Andrewson. By Natalie Proulx. Sept. 20, 2018. Do you think children should do household chores? Or should their time and energy go toward school and extracurricular ...
How to Divide Household Chores Fairly
Rule #1: All time is created equal. Both partners need to reframe how you value time, and then commit to the goal of rebalancing the hours that domestic work requires between the two of you. The ...
The Benefits of Chores
Make chores a regular part of the family routine - it is expected that everyone over the age of 3 will be responsible for certain tasks to keep the household functioning. Decide if allowance will be given for the completion of chores. Children may not thank you in the short term for giving them chores.
The Importance Of The Household Chores For Children
This tool is called the CHORES, which stands for (Children Helping Out: Responsibilities, Expectations, and Supports). According to Louise Dunn, who wrote about the CHORES study, having children help with chores can provide the child with many benefits. According to Dunn, some of these benefits include "social participation as a family.
My Household Chores
My household chores - Free download as Word Doc (.doc), PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. The document discusses the importance of doing household chores. The narrator helps with various chores like sweeping, cleaning their room, making food, gardening, vacuuming, washing floors and dishes. Doing chores helps keep the home bright and clean, which makes everyone in the ...
Sharing chores a key to good marriage, say most married adults
Among married adults, men are slightly more likely than women to say sharing household chores is very important to a successful marriage (63% vs. 58%). And those ages 18 to 29 (67%) and ages 30 to 49 (63%) are more likely to say sharing chores is very important, compared with 57% of those ages 50 to 64 and 56% of those 65 and older.
The Complete Household Chores List
Weekly chores. Your weekly chore list is probably the most important. This should consist of: Cleaning the bathrooms, including: Scrubbing sinks, tubs, showers, and (yes) toilets, Sweeping and mopping the floor. Windexing mirrors. Cleaning the kitchen, including: Removing items from countertops and cleaning the countertops with soap and water.
Household chores for kids
Household chores help children learn important life and daily skills. Choose household chores that suit children's ages and abilities. You can motivate children to do chores by praising and encouraging their efforts. Young children can do chores like tidying up toys. Older children can help with setting the table, cleaning, cooking and so on.
50 Latest Chore IELTS Topics
50 Latest Chore IELTS Topics. Get a band score and detailed report instantly. Check your IELTS essays right now! Nowadays, in many countries women have full time jobs. Therefore, it is logical to share household chores equally between men and women.
Performing Household Chores Could Improve Your Health
A team of researchers followed 130,000 people in 17 countries, of various income levels, from 2003 to 2010, and discovered that they enjoyed the same health benefits whether they were going to the gym, walking to work or doing household chores.Indeed, performing 30 minutes of any kind of physical activity five days a week could slash your risk of death from any cause by 28 percent and your ...
Should kids do chores? The Importance & benefits of chores
Undertaking a household chore, especially for the first time, is a great problem-solving exercise for a child. As kids take on new tasks, they must work with initiative and creativity to figure out how to complete their chores well. Completing chores requires planning, remembering instructions, and making links in their actions.
IELTS essay Benefits of doing and sharing housework
In my opinion, doing and sharing housework has enormous benefits. I agree with doing housework has many advantages. Our house will be cleaner, orderly if we clean the floor every day. We will feel more comfortable after a busy day when we come back to a clean house. According to psychologists, most people usually doing housework tend to rarely ...

The Importance of Chores

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10 Reasons Why Household Chores Are Important

1. Sense of Responsibility

2. Beneficial to siblings

4. Preparation for Employment

5. Make your life easier

6. Chores may make your child more accountable

7. Develop fine and gross motor skills and planning abilities

8. Teach empathy

9. Strengthen bonds with pets

10. Gain an appreciation and understanding of currency

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Household Chores

I Created a System to Make Sure My Husband and I Divide Household Duties Fairly. Here’s How It Works

Why domestic work falls to women

How I fostered more fairness at home

Rule #1: All time is created equal.

Rule #2: Reclaim your right to be interesting .

Rule #3: Start where you are now.

Rule #4: Establish your values and standards .

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