One time our class teacher taught about chores and how important it is towards our growth and development. It was obvious in my class that the majority of my colleagues don’t enjoy doing home chores as most of them look at chores as punishments from their parents.

Our teacher told us that children who engage in chores at home later develop higher self-esteem, they are more responsible, are self-reliant, plus they know how to use their time well.

He mentioned that when you do chores well, you are likely to participate better in other activities even at school and you are more courageous in solving problems. Personally, I didn’t find doing chores before interesting but since my parents always assigned me activities to do at home such as cleaning my room, cleaning the dining table after meals, and arranging my room and that of my siblings, I later picked interest in it because it made me more responsible and appreciated.

With my parents’ appreciation, I started looking at household tasks as an opportunity to give back to my parents for their everyday sacrifices for me. Besides, everytime I finish a task it makes me feel I have contributed to the family’s development.

One important thing I have learned from chores that I wish to share with my fellow children is that household tasks increase a sense of responsibility among us. It makes our parents happy when we complete a task and it equally feels us with a sense of accomplishment.

Parents often think that we are still young and thus thus can’t manage some activities on our own. But it’s by doing chores that we prove that we are growing and thus capable of harder tasks.

I encourage every child to challenge themselves with household tasks. Surprise your parents and wash the dishes, clean the house, bath with your siblings, do arrangements in the house, water the garden or even do laundry on your own. There are activities that help us to acquire life’s valuable skills such as self-reliance, time management, focus and caution, responsibility, and maturity. The write is a 13-year-old Grade Five student