In today’s Healthy Parenting Handbook episode, I’m going to take 5 different arguments against kids doing chores and learning life skills and counter them with facts, stories, research, and a big ol’ dose of common sense.
These are real arguments I hear from both well-meaning parents AND keyboard warriors on social media, plus one from a well-established expert I heard on a podcast that I simply do not agree with!
If you’ve ever had to listen to someone say it’s cruelty to make your kids clean a bathroom or have felt yourself that maybe kids are busy enough – maybe life skills aren’t important to learn now – this one’s for you.
Can’t see the video? Watch Teaching Kids Chores and Life Skills here on YouTube!
No time for the video? Here are the notes!
Please note that these match the video from 2023 and not the audio podcast, although they should be close. Katie added some new 2025 info in for the podcast!
Teaching Kids Life Skills and Chores
- 0:05: I’ve been teaching kids to cook for years and I’ve heard many moms say the same refrain, “It’s quicker and easier to do it myself.” That’s true, but in the long term, you’re setting your kids up for difficulties as adults if you don’t teach them how to do chores and basic life skills.
- 1:30: Today I’m sharing 5 arguments against kids learning to do chores and my counterarguments.
- 1:50: Number one is that you’re turning your kids into your servants and you’re lazy if you make them do chores. In the moment it’s actually much harder to teach kids to do a task. I don’t think that counts as lazy!
- 3:15: I prefer to share responsibility in the household and the key word there is share. We work alongside each other and my kids see that I work hard and I’m not just foisting my responsibilities off on them.
- 5:18: I share a success story from a few years ago during the Life Skills Now Summer Camp about a kid learning to clean their room in one of our workshops.
- 7:54: Argument #2: It’s not that hard to learn how to do laundry or clean as an adult. If that’s true, then it’s also not hard to learn as a child. Knowing how to do “grown-up” things for themselves gives kids a great sense of confidence and pride. There’s more to be gained than just learning a skill.
- 9:58: I hear argument #3 from many well meaning parents: Kids just need to play, they don’t need to worry about life skills now. Yes, kids need to play! But they need to do other things too! If you watch kids playing, oftentimes they’re pretending to work because they mimic their parents and other adults.
Long-Term Benefits of Learning Life Skills
- 11:11: Teaching kids a myriad of life skills can help them discover interests that could lead them towards a career path. For example, teaching kids budgeting skills could uncover an interest in finance or teaching cooking could spark an interest in being a chef.
- 14:15: I give a little preview of some topics we have in this year’s Life Skills Now Summer Camp that could uncover hidden interests and talents in your kids.
- 16:00: I heard argument #4 on a well-respected podcast, from a best-selling author. It’s this: everyone is busy, as parents we need to stop focusing on getting the dishes done and learn to disconnect and play with our kids when we have time with them.
- 17:15: This one sounds great, but you can’t live that way every day. If you always leave the dishes to go climb a tree, you will have no clean dishes. You have to clean, cook, pay the bills, etc. to keep the home running smoothly. There has to be a balance there.
- 18:32: If you teach your kids to help with cooking and/or chores, then those tasks can be done faster, and you have more time to spend together. You can also have some great conversations with your kids while you’re doing chores together.
When we use teamwork to get the chores done, we get more time to spend as a family instead of one person doing all the work while everyone else relaxes. -Katie Kimball
- 19:52: Kids actually love doing things alongside their parents. They ask to help when they’re toddlers. Why not keep that intrinsic motivation going?
- 21:27: Lastly, parents say their kids are too busy to learn life skills or do chores. I say that means that kids are too busy. They should have enough free time that it isn’t a burden to do a few chores each day.
- 23:03: Listen in here for some more examples of upcoming workshops from Life Skills Now Summer Camp 2023!
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