Doing household chores teach children responsibility, self-sufficiency, and what it means to be a contributing member of the family.  All of these things are important life skills.

Being Responsible:

Learning to take care of your own things.  Get yourself and your stuff ready for school or activities.  Helping to take care of a pet.  Helping with the laundry. These are all examples of life skills that are important for children to learn.

My 8 yr old can get himself completely ready for his baseball practices.  All parts of his uniform ready and on him.  His bag packed.  His water bottles filled.  Granted, at his age I still do the quick run down with him as we leave the house, mostly because I don’t want to be the one driving like a mad man back from the field to get the missing glove or bat. 

Feeling Like a Contributing Member of the Family:

When children do chores they feel like they are a meaningful part of the family.  Younger children especially love to help with things like emptying the dishwasher, putting laundry in the dryer.  Studies have shown that even older children who complain abut doing chores secretly like it because it makes them feel like they are valuable.

Being Self-Sufficient

Learning life skills that will carry them through the rest of their lives.  I am sure that most of met someone in college who had no idea how to work a washing machine, cook the simplest of foods, or know that the cleaning fairy does not really exist.  I know I don’t want my children to be that person!