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The difference between "the occasional errand is fun for kids" and "becomes a chore, an obligation" cannot be emphasized enough! I vividly remember watching my
by function_seven 4y ago
The difference between "the occasional errand is fun for kids" and "becomes a chore, an obligation" cannot be emphasized enough!
I vividly remember watching my dad mow the front lawn one afternoon. I was 11 I think? It looked so fun pushing this loud machine over the messy grass and leaving a path of perfectly neat turf behind.
I asked him if I could try it out. He hesitated for a bit, then said, "Sure." So I did, and it was fun.
And it was now my obligation once a week for the next 8 years.
The fun was short-lived, but the chore remained. And the mechanism was identical to how I assumed vacuuming duty at the age of 8, which means I didn't learn my lesson from that fiasco either :)
- robonerd 4y agoFor me, the first of these adventures-turned-chores was washing the car. It was great fun in the summer; we didn't have air conditioning then so any excuse to go outside and spray the hose was great as far as I was concerned. But before too long that chore extended into the fall and spring when it was chilly and not remotely fun. It only ended when I was 16 and had the idea to drive the car to the local carwash instead.
- bitwize 4y agoWhat are kids for but to serve as extra hands for all the necessary work in the house? :)
- function_seven 4y agoI was literally in a Dickens novel. Might as well have been dropped down the chimney to scrub it!