Relationship

Childhood obesity and chore time

We all had chores when we were little. We wash dishes, fold clothes, put them away and help with housework. As we got older, we added help with garden work. It didn’t occur to us that we were exercising but, in fact, we were. It was just more productive.

Calories burned: A good calorie counter, like caloriesperhour.com, will help show how many calories a person has burned and consumed. This is an easy way to gauge if your child (or anyone else) is physically doing enough to get and / or stay in shape. Believe me, garden work can add up to a good result.

Life skills taught: Over time, our children will grow up to have their own home and their own responsibilities. Learning to cook, clean, and garden will prepare you for that moment. You can also show them professional ideas. Gardening was one of the factors that led me to become a master herbalist.

Relieve parental pressure: It is difficult to work all day and then have to do all the tasks that accumulate. It’s hard enough for working parents to prepare a healthy meal, take care of homework, and get children to go to bed on time. Having the help of children can take some of the pressure off. Children will feel the relief.

Bonding: As much as I hate washing dishes, there were cases where we were kids that allowed some kind of bonding to happen. When Dad helped with them, we were able to talk. It was a one-on-one time; Believe me, the rest of the children would not dream of going to the kitchen when they have to wash the dishes at a table of seven people.

It may seem like we should keep our kids from doing all the chores we had when we were kids, but we wouldn’t be doing them any favors. They will not learn what to do, they will miss special moments that can happen with shared tasks, and they may assume that there will always be someone doing the dirty work.