#181 Chores as Child Abuse?! Responses to This & Other Surprising Comments

Have you ever thought of chores as child abuse? I haven’t either. But I shared a post on Instagram about our system for organizing chores and I was shocked at the number of NEGATIVE comments I received from people who believe that giving your children chores is akin to child labor and abuse.One comment said, “Parents who want to do less [sic] things by dumping it on kids should be ashamed of themselves. Kids do not need to have regular chores in order to learn responsibility and you know it VERY WELL… you aren't teaching, you are USING kids!”Another comment said, “There is plenty wrong and abusive in making children feel they must contribute to the household. Why? Because it's putting undew [sic] pressure on children, pressure that they should not have.”One more states simply, “Children should not be made to do regular chores.”And finally, “CHORES FOR KIDS? More like mom and dad don't want to do their household duties!”This concept wasn’t entirely new to me. I had come across it in some out-of-the-way literature. But I hadn’t ever come across anyone who actually believed it. It seems common sense to most parents that using chores can help their children learn responsibility.In this episode, we respond to these comments (since responding to them on Instagram was limited by space) and philosophize on chores, and debate both sides of the argument. When can doing chores be detrimental to a child? In what circumstances do chores become child abuse or child labor? If parents decide to do chores, what is the best way to go about doing them? How do you teach your children the underlying philosophy or archetypal reasons for doing chores so that they feel self-motivated to do them?We discuss all of this and much more in this lengthy but entertaining and enlightening discussion.RESOURCES:Let us help you in your extraordinary family life journey.How We Raised 7 Well-Adjusted Kids - Without Yelling, Tantrums, Punishments or Power Struggles (+ get THE CHECKLIST: Things We Do Every Day to Raise Well-Adjusted Kids)Rachel’s ⁠⁠Must-Read Booklist for Well-Read Moms⁠⁠Greg's ⁠⁠Recommended Reading List for Parents & Youth⁠⁠Follow us on Instagram: ⁠@worldschoolfamily⁠ or ⁠@greg.denning⁠Enrollment is open for the Extraordinary Parent Mentoring Method!Get Rachel's ⁠⁠Family Systems & Charts⁠⁠Join the Do More With Less Stress Workshop Series for busy momsJoin Greg’s 7-Day Challenge JOIN GREG'S 90-DAY HEALTH & FITNESS CHALLENGE! Join the Formidable Family Man Masterclass and TribeGather with us at the ⁠World School Family (Beach & Farm) Resort⁠ in PortugalRead our reviews here: https://podcast.extraordinaryfamilylife.com/reviews/