
What chores did children do in the past?
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To mow the lawn in summer and shovel the snow in winter. To cross streets safely. Parents didnt chauffer us to school.
Growing up in the 50’s and early 60’s in a large family, responsibilities were given before the age of 5, watching over younger siblings and light house chores such as clearing the table after each meal. As I got older, by the time I reached the age of 12, I was able to sew all of my dresses and sewed for you younger sisters, wash and iron the clothes, cook a complete meal, bake bread for each day of the week and clean the whole house, help keep the yard swept.
I'm a quilter. I have read that at the age of 5 a girl was taught how to piece a simple nine patch square. She was to complete a quilt a year because in ten years she would be of marigable age and would need her own linens. And there was no Walmart then.
I grew up in the city, but ran to the country when I was 20 years old, and married a Farmer. My only sibling was a Girly Girl and I was the Tomboy. Before I was 9 years old I could drive, change a tire, re-wire my mother's vacuum cleaner that she yanked all the plugs off of, shoot a gun with amazing accuracy, paint buildings neatly, and do basic woodworking projects. My father taught me everything HE knew, and told me to never be dependent on my future husband. My first REAL job was as an Auto Mechanic for Sears Auto Centers while I went to school to become a Police Officer, which I DID. Now, as a Senior Citizen, I can still do all those things and all the wife and mom stuff as well. NO ONE should rely on others to do what they can do for themselves, even today, with technology and automatic everything. It's up to Parents to turn off the electronics and teach your kids to be self-sufficient. We could lose the Grid at any time, then what?
Because of the huge change in technology in the last 150 years, it's understandable that times and chores have greatly changed. We have a blended family full of adult millennials. They are of both genders, both political parties and all in their 20's and 30's. They are all hard workers who have chosen different careers, some own homes and some don't, some have children and some don't, some live near us and some don't. t of nine kids, only the youngest still lives with us but has a full-time job and pays his own bills. I'll never understand the term, 'snowflake,' and why people feel the need to somehow insult another person simply because they have made different choices or be held responsible for what parents have or have not taught them. Every generation has worked hard for what they have and that continues with this generation. It's just the kind of work that coincides with the current times. People need to relax.
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