When I was about five years old my mother and I moved in with my recently widowed grandmother.  About two years later my mother was able to afford her own apartment.  After that, I stayed with my grandmother after school and during the Summers while my mother worked long hours.  My grandmother was in her eighties and was very crippled by arthritis forcing her to use a walker and a wheelchair.  So from about age 5 until 16, I had the privilege of helping her. When I was in elementary school I sometimes envied a friend in my grandmother’s neighborhood who seemed to have an easier life.  Like me, she was an only child who lived with her grandmother.  But she had a father who worked while her mom stayed home and cared for her and her grandmother.  She didn’t have to do chores.  But I got satisfaction from helping my elderly grandmother and I got to take on challenges that my friend didn’t.  I started mowing my grandmother’s lawn with a push mower before I was tall enough or strong enough to do a proper job but she never let on that I did substandard work.  From kindergarten age, I loved weeding the gardens with her as she taught me about flowers.  I swept or shoveled her sidewalk, raked leaves, pruned bushes, cleaned her garden pond, and loved every minute of being outside.  I vacuumed, helped a little in the kitchen, and filled the bird feeder from the sunroom window.  On Saturdays, after my mother and I loaded the washing machines at the laundromat we would grocery shop for us and my grandmother.  I took part of the shopping list and she the other.  We shopped as fast as possible so we could get back to the laundromat by the time the wash cycle was finished.  Together we put the clothes in the big dryers and waited till it was time to fold our clothes.  I’m quite sure at the beginning I didn’t do a perfect job folding, but I wasn’t criticized.  Then we went home and cleaned our tiny apartment.  My mother and grandmother always allowed me to feel I was helping- contributing to my family.  They nurtured my attitude that I could tackle just about any job.  They didn’t expect perfection, but they did expect earnest effort.

I feel sorry for kids who aren’t given responsibilities at home.  Yes, I know it’s easier for the adults to do the work themselves.  But allowing kids to contribute to the welfare of the family is important if they are to mature.  No, the children won’t do tasks to your standards.  Yes, it’ll take a lot of time and patience to check up on their progress.  Yes, you could have done it much faster and better yourself.  But what is the goal?  Is it to have lofty standards or to teach the next generation to step up, take responsibility, and learn skills and a work ethic?  Do you want kids (grandkids) who grow up to sit by and let you work or kids that want to take care of their family?  

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”  Genesis 2:15

Growing up I learned that some jobs simply can’t be done by young children, but they can assist as the adult does the job.  Older children might need adults close-by for safety reasons or for guidance.  Other times, it’s best for adults to distance themselves so they’re not tempted to micro-manage which kills a kid’s initiative.  I know it’s important to be quick with praise and appreciation.  But also discuss how the child can improve next time which is far different than complaining about the outcome of their hard work.  

“When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks.”  Genesis 37:2

Satisfaction,  cooperation, work ethic, confidence, skills, being teachable, trustworthy, dependable, persistent, and considerate of others, completing tasks, overcoming obstacles.  All these are benefits of children working for their families.  Are you allowing them to work and develop these priceless qualities?  I’m grateful my childhood circumstances pressed me into working.  I’m a better person for it.

“we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat. Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. . . settle down and work to earn their own living.”  2 Thessalonians 3:10-12

During my college years, I worked about twenty hours a week, took a double major, and did community service twice a week.  My mother died my junior year of high school and often times during college I wasn’t able to even contact my father.  I didn’t get any financial help from him.  I knew I was on my own and it was up to me to make it thru.  I had so much in my favor, tho.  I had a small stipend from Social Security because of my mother’s death, and the college I attended didn’t charge tuition.  (It was funded by donors.) So I only had to earn enough to pay room and board, books, and personal needs. I knew how blessed I was.  I worked hard during the summers and saved money until the summer before my senior year when I had to do three months of volunteer practik to meet the requirements of my major.  I started my last school year with a shortfall.  My school bill was due before my SS check arrived and I hadn’t had enough work hours to pay my bill.  Enter Husband-to-be.  We met the first month of school and he graciously offered to loan me the money to pay my school bill until I could repay him three days later when my check arrived.  And guess what?  He’s been providing for me ever since!  

He grew up working in the fields from the time he was little.  He picked in the strawberry fields of local farmers beginning at age six.  In elementary school, he picked berries, beans, and hazelnuts.  He was expected to save some of his earnings.  In high school, he worked two jobs and was trusted by his bosses to perform skilled tasks.  By the time he got to college, he had savings to pay for first a state university and then the college where we met.  Working was a way of life for him, both at home and as an employee.    He grew up to willingly provide for his wife and six children and never complained. I credit his parents with instilling in him a strong work ethic that they themselves modeled.

“These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children,  to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good…”  Titus 2:4-5

I know kids nowadays aren’t allowed to be employed until they’re sixteen.   But there are still opportunities for kids to take on responsibilities in the family.  One of our nieces brings her daughters to work for their aged great-grandparents doing yard work and housework.  They provide needed services and get the satisfaction of helping family members.  Perhaps you could get creative and help the kids in your life learn to work.  Then they might not have the time or energy to get into trouble!

“Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.”  1 Thessalonians 4:11

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