So what if my daughter isn’t yet two? It’s never too early to introduce a child to the concept of chores, glorious chores, a toddler’s introduction to a life of hardship and pain.
The top 6 reasons why my toddler does chores
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Looking back, chores are transactions in the informal economy. Chores teach long-term tasks, thing that require doing without money, and never being really “done”.
Chores are a chance to practice patience, until it becomes a useful skill.
Chores repeated over and over provide lessons in ethics, morals, and contemplation. Character, motor skills, endurance, and they provide care to family, livestock, and often provide indirect benefits to others. (That informal economy transaction thing, again.)
Life doesn’t necessarily have to be hard, and chores aren’t a preparation for that. Chores let us learn a balance between what we can do, what we haven’t learned to do yet, and things we could do if we had the opportunity and resources. The proper reward for chores well done is to teach another to do those same chores, not a treat, and not to be relieved of responsibility for doing those chores well. The lesson that is most important is to accept that chores are expected, and doing them well is expected.
How else do we learn to adjust to changes and surprises — like marriage?
Bravo!