Chinese kids slow to learn joys of housework

Chinese children often have a slack attitude toward helping their parents do the housework, Chengdu Evening News reported on Monday.

The report follows the appearance online of a cartoon showing how children in the United States have to learn to do various kinds of housework at different ages while Chinese children tend to avoid such chores at similar ages.

A Chengdu resident surnamed Wang told the newspaper that his 10-year-old daughter always bargains with him when he asks her to do some simple chores around the house.

“For instance, I have to pay 50 yuan ($8.2) every time she washes the dishes at home and 70 yuan for sweeping and mopping the floor,” he said.

Wang said he had always feared that doing housework might harm his daughter, but now he regretted that she had developed a lazy attitude.

In contrast, one 6-year-old boy now completes various household tasks with great enthusiasm, including washing dishes, making dumplings, and shopping for groceries, the report said.

The boy's motivation came from a previous school homework, in which students were asked to learn to do at least two kinds of housework during the winter holiday, his mother told the newspaper.

Parents and educational analysts said that lazy habits among some children were mostly the result of overindulgence by their families.

“Many Chinese children are lacking in strong hands-on skills because their families have always overprotected them. Parents should help their children realize that they are part of the families and have responsibilities on taking care of themselves and helping parents do the housework,” said Hu Yan, a researcher from Chengdu Institute of Education Science.