Train Them to Work

Our children need chores more than they need screen time.

The status quo of American parenting is raising a generation that doesn't know how to work. They don't know how to clean, cook, or serve. They know how to consume, complain, and expect everything handed to them.

The result will be spoiled, entitled adults who take everything personal because they feel the world owes them something.

It's also not biblical. The Bible says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, "If any would not work, neither should he eat." And Proverbs 22:6 commands us, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Work is a gift from God, not a curse. God put Adam in the garden to work before sin entered the world. Work gives purpose, builds character, and teaches discipline.

Children should have responsibilities appropriate to their age. A three-year-old can pick up toys. A ten-year-old can cook simple meals. A teenager can maintain their own laundry. They should make their beds, clean their rooms, help prepare meals, and serve the family. They should learn that their actions affect others and that laziness has consequences.

Your children may protest now. They may complain that you're being unfair or that none of their friends have to do this. But when they grow up and get married, they'll thank you. When they enter the workforce, they'll stand out. When they serve in church, they'll be reliable.

But it starts at home. Stop doing everything for them. Stop letting them sit idle while you work. Give them chores. Inspect their work. Praise their diligence. Correct their laziness.

You're not raising kids. You're raising future adults.

And if your children are already teenagers who've never had chores, it's not too late. Repent of your passivity before God. Explain to your children what you're changing and why. Then begin training them today. God's grace covers our parenting failures, but His grace also calls us to faithfulness moving forward.

Train them to work.