In ¡§The Case Against Chores,¡ Jane Smiley lists several arguments in favor of requiring children to have chores at home. She says that children don¡t want to do the chores. To her, the pressure to put the children to work is unrelenting. I disagree with her stance and think that chores are really life lessons for children. Children who have regular assigned household chores feel a sense of self-worth and competency. They also tend to demonstrate responsibility in other aspects of their lives. These children exhibit a higher level of self-confidence and see themselves as an integral part of their family. Chores are a good way to teach responsibility to children. It is what is expected of all members of a family and also teaches them how to do things on their own when they become adults.
             For example, my friend had a bad time when she separated from her parents. As she was growing up, she didn't have many chores. All that was expected of her was to do the dishes after dinner and keep her room clean (which she barely did). Later when she got her own place, she discovered a few problems as a result of not learning how to do certain household tasks. One of these problems was lack of organization. As she was growing up in her parent¡s home, most everything was kept for later use or for sentimental value. Since she grew up this way, this is how she ran her household; she didn't know any other way. She found out after a period of time that this was not going to work for her. Her tiny apartment wasn't as big as mom and dad's house and it wasn't long until her place was bulging with too much stuff. It has taken her years to train herself to be more organized and the job is even more challenging with children and husband. She is still 'in training' and still not that organized, but there has been a lot of improvement. The point is that if we can begin training our children early, they can have an easier time when they get out on their...