Growing up, I remember having different responsibilities given to us kids to help around the house. We had job charts that we followed to help with cleaning the kitchen, living room, table, etc. I remember hating doing work around the house but I knew it was necessary to have the privileges I wanted. Privileges like seeing friends and watching movies.
I learned at a young age that if I did my jobs, I got what I wanted (for the most part). I also learned more than I realized from these jobs. When I moved out of the house, there were many necessary skills that I had been taught through helping my mom and dad that I never would have known if they didn't ever ask me to help.
I have memories of helping my mom cook in the kitchen, sewing with my grandma, building fences with my dad, and other smaller jobs around the house. Who knew that it's great to know how to cook, sew, and work with others on a difficult job? I wouldn't have known, unless I had done it.
This week in my Family Relations class we read "Family Work" By Kathleen Slaugh Bahr and Cheri A. Loveless (https://magazine.byu.edu/article/family-work/). I think the article did a good job of describing how events used to be in families compared to how they are now.
There was a lot more helping parents with cooking, preparing meals, and so forth. This was because of the time and effort it took to make things from scratch. There was also help needed on the farm and in the garden to get everything done in the day.
As industrialization began to take place, people began to move to the cities with a vision of factories and what the future might hold for them. However, the factories required lots of work and little pay. Families had less time with one another and more time working to pay for the home or food they needed, especially since they were no longer growing their food themselves.
Children were often sent to work in factories to help earn money but would often get injured using the machines and in some cases, killed. Laws began to go forth about child labor and what ages children were allowed to work.
The article continues that as time went on, there became more and more cases of both parents working two jobs to provide for the family.
A study we discussed in class took two parent's incomes and recorded detailed information of where the finances were going. After looking over all of the finances, they told the couple this;
With his income of $42,000 and her income of $22,000, they were averaging a total of $41,500 after paying for child care, travel costs, bills, etc. Not only was it costing them money to have dual incomes, it was taking both parents away from their children for more than 30 hours a week each.
The couple was shocked by the news and decided that it was best for them (in their situation) to have only one income.
Every person and family situation is different, and therefore this information can't be applied the same way with everyone. However, families who work together will often have greater happiness, success, and relationships in general. They often learn hard work, people skills, and that working will always be a part of life.
I am personally grateful for the work I learned to do with my family so that I can be successful in jobs, school, and the way I live. I'm not perfect, but I feel I have a good foundation to get me headed in the right direction.
What are your thoughts on families working together? How do you think it might benefit a family to work together more?
Until next time,
Kirie
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