If housework is work?

Question

which should be payed (by somebody, the husbdand I assume), should a woman who makes her children empty the dish washer clean up their rooms or vacuum the living room be charged for exploiting children ?

Tina D if you pay your children for the work they do I hope they have the legal age to perform payed work, else I would have to report you for child abuse/exploitation if housework were real work.

Answer 1

By "someone," who else would it be but the husband? I've seen a few nutcases suggest housework should be funded by the government. The first time I read that I laughed until my sides ached.

Obviously these people come from the school of thought that money just materializes in private reserves that the government uses to build roads and schools. The word "taxes" probably means nothing to them because they're either welfare moms who get all theirs back, or they're too young to have ever needed a W2. If the government were expected to pay for housework, who do you think would have to fund it? WE WOULD, GENIUSES!

Good gravy. Just needed to rant about the stupidity of that.

Anyway, as for the question itself, let's assume a husband who works to support his family and a mother who supports the house and takes care of the children. The mother is "paid" by the benefit of nice house and a fully-stocked fridge. No husband is going to force his wife to come begging to him for an "allowance" because it's in the best interests of both to spend the money wisely on things they need, and it's the wife who will most likely do this while the husband is at work. Decisions on personal luxuries are made by agreement of both parties, just like they have in stable families for a long time.

As for the kids, make 'em do their part. Babying your children (no pun intended) forever makes them spoiled and weak. Remember Rousseau who used the analogy of Thetis dipping Achilles in the river Styx to make him a nearly invincible man; only through hard work and trial will a child grow up to be strong.

Answer 2

housework is work and although the ideal of paying someone, presumably the woman to do the housework is an extreme idea. The point feminists and others have made about housework is that it needs to be equally valued as a contribution to a household along with the paid employment of one or both partners.

No children should not be paid to help around the house and such an idea is detrimental to good parenting models which would require children to be taught to take part in the care of their own environment.

The way society is heading it would not surprise me if parents were one day charged with the exploitation of children for getting the little darlings to do a reasonable share of household work.

And honestly there is soooooooooooooo very much to do to keep a house running smoothly even if you paid the mum to do it all and did not allow the children to help for fear of exploitation you would simply wear the woman down and teach the children nothing of value..

Answer 3

You know what as a child my husband never did a chore beyond helping do yard work. I as a child did chores all the time. That is how I got money to go to the movies or mcdonalds since I didn't get a regular allowance. Can you guess who the pig in my house is? My husband is such a messy person that it drives me batty.

I think that children do need to do housework so that they know how to appreciate a clean living enviroment. It is just plain gross to go to someones house and see dirty underwear on the bathroom floor for instance. Plus living in a dirty home can be quite unsanitary (bugs like stuff on the floor to hide in, mold can reak havoc on allergy sufferers ect.) Kids need to be raised in such a way that when they are on their own they keep a clean house. It is only fair if you expect a child to do chores that they be allowed an allowance or a prize for learning this valuable trait. If not then the chore becomes something that they can't stand doing and have no intention of doing when they are not told to.

I hate cleaning but you know what...I hate cleaning even more when the dishes sit in the sink till there are no more clean ones or the floor is so nasty that you stick to it or slide on it depending on where you are walking or when the laundry is so piled up that I have no clothes in the closet clean to wear. My husband doesn't pay me to do this stuff and rarely ever even thanks me for doing it, in fact I am often
b!tched at for moving something of his that he can't find if it isn't where he last left it reguardless of if it was put in its proper home. This is why I don't think that making kids learn to take care of their enviroment is exploiting them or doing them harm because they have to do a little work.

Answer 4

I don't understand what you're getting at.

Housework is everyone's basic responsibility as follows:

In a couple, if both work outside the home, chores should be equally divided. If one of them works outside (regardless of gender) the other one should be 100% responsible for the housework.

As far as children is concerned, my Spanish mother had a saying, "El arbolito, desde pequeñito", which translate, "The tree from small". In other words, children need to learn early how to do housework, so how else can they learn if not by hands on and by assignment of chores?

There is a site that has been quite informative when it comes to housework and how to involve everyone in a way that seems less like a chore, and more like a fun game.

Answer 5

Yes they get paid. With cable tv, highspeed Internet, feeding their friends each weekend (and feeding a house full of teenage boys is not cheap) by driving them and their friends all over the county, electric guitars, strings, music, and unlimited supply (or so they think) of electricity to run their amps, and phones. That's probably not even touching the surface.

Why should children expect to live, eat, and create a mess and not clean up after themselves? This is the mentality that has raised children to be irresponsible, rude, demanding, and is the first step to why kids are taking guns to school. They have no bounderies and no examples of consequences.

People like you should never be allowed to have children.

Answer 6

Do you do any housework? Washing dishes, mopping floors, vacuuming, laundry, dusting, cooking, childcare, gardening, etc? does it feel like it's not "work?" And don't these jobs exist in the job market (child care provider, janitor, cook/chef, house cleaner, landscaper, etc.)? The people that do these jobs in the market place might have a few things to say to anyone who says they aren't "real" jobs, and they'd definitely take exception if you suggested they no longer get paid.
I'm not suggesting that "housewives" be paid in the same sense, just that people recognize it IS real work, and should be appreciated.

Answer 7

I think the children doing these things should earn an allowance, we are expected to be paid for any work we do, why should children have to do it just because we make them. Yes, I'm a parent and any work my child does is rewarded with an allowance or special treat of her choosing. After all our children aren't born to be slaves, we should not treat them as such.

Answer 8

It is OK for a mother to put her children to work. Not hard work but some around the house according to their age and without neglecting school. They should be taught responsibility and their only reward should be the smile on their mother's face after they did a good job. They should appreciate everything the mother does for them, all the sacrifice and hard work and sleepless nights. Otherwise they will grow up spoiled, believing they deserve everything.

Answer 9

Actually I agree with you! I think it is ridiculous of me to ask my children to do anything other than clean up their own personal things. I'm the mom, I should bear the labor of the dishes and laundry, etc.
And we do get paid in a round about way- we don't have to "work" outside the home, yet we are provided for. And we will get to retire when our husbands retire, even though we haven't contributed financially to a retirement plan. Also we work our butts off around the house to help save the money to contribute to retirement.

Answer 10

Are you for real!?!?

Children need to clean and tidy up.... it's called life skills. If they aren't taught at home when will they learn?? It's not taught in school.

Why do you think the majoity of kids are so useless these days?? They can't look after themselves because they weren't made to do anything whilst they were growing up.