The Wall Street Journal has an article today telling us that gender equality has NOT seeped into the home yet. According to "a nationwide study by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research", boys (ages 10-18) are more likely to be paid for doing chores, even though girls the same age spend 30% more time doing work around the house.
Aw, nuts. I'll tell you who does more chores. I'm the oldest of six. Darwin is the oldest of three. I realize, of course, that the plural of anecdote is not data, but we both know from experience that the oldest child does more work around the house than his or her lazy siblings. There's a big chore that requires the attention of someone trustworthy? The oldest. Putting away dishes and need someone who can reach the top shelf? The oldest.
C'mon, Wall Street Journal. Let's see a study about the correlation of birth order with chore expectation. And you pampered younger siblings out there -- take out the garbage this minute.
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16 comments:
lol... no resentment there I see... =) I know the feeling though. The oldest 3 or 4 in my family always got the bulk of the chores when I was still at home. I have a few theories, but since I'm not a parent I don't think I should criticize just yet.
I'll agree with that. Of course, I am the oldest of four...
Hey now...what about the ONLYS?
We all know about the character flaws of the only child.
As the oldest of four I am in complete agreement, even my slightly younger, more organized and responsible brother knows which of the siblings to pass the buck to when the chips are down...
Well, I suppose the only child has to do the brunt of the chores, having no siblings on which to pawn them off. Them's the breaks.
I'm intrigued that many of readers seem to be oldest children -- who says opposites attract?
I am the eldest of four as well.....
I'm the youngest, and I was expected to do the bulk of the housecleaning as a child; no dad around, mom was working 60+ hours/week, and older brother didn't care if one had to wade hip-deep through mess.
Maybe the readership is just the set of people who took responsibility, without regard to birth order.
Maybe the majority of the chore-avoiding readership is just afraid to post confirmation of your theory, particularly given the debilitating character assualts of one "Jen P."
;)
(I can vouch that she is a younger sibling, married to a middle sibling, so perhaps this was too sensitive a topic for her to handle).
I'm an only married to an oldest, and my parents were both oldest siblings. Birth order is very interesting.
Elder of two here.
Well, I confess that I was making massive generalizations, and that I know many responsible younger siblings (INCLUDING MY OWN; hi, kids!) who are models of organization and grace in the home. I don't actually know so many only children, but if Dorian is one, that's good enough for me. I henceforth proclaim this a "No Hassling Dorian" zone.
But I see that Opinionated Homeschooler has put it all in context. All responsible peoples are welcomed here, regardless of birth order.
I'm pretty sure that Amy Welborn is also an only child, so - I offer her as exhibit one in the Case of the Slandered Onlies.
(Only's? Onlys? It's probably "onlys.")
Jen P. and I go way back - like, three years, or however long it's been since I was a sophomore in college. Yeah, three years, plus or minus a few more. I do appreciate having a safe haven from her campaign of taunting.
For what it's worth (not much), I always wanted to be the oldest and even told my parents so on many occasions. Apparently, I took responsibility away from my sister for many things, including selling her Campfire Mints (she was 7, I was 5 -- I sold them for her because she was scared to ask). So I've always really been an older younger sibling. My husband is a middle child but his older brother is adopted and I suspect that in many ways they are both "first" children.
But I'll stop the harassing of Dorian because it's the responsible thing to do ;)
See? MrsDarwin: building consensus among those of differing birth orders. I sense a career in politics coming on.
In my family, I did the bulk. Lawn, vacuuming, bathrooms & dishes. Little sis did some bathrooms and dusting.
My wife, is 3rd in a lineup of 10. She probably did the most at some point once she was a teen. However, much of this responsibility was in delegating. My wife's a genius.
Ha, as 2nd oldest of 11, I know how things go down in my family. Plus, my mom was 2nd of 10, and I know how the chips fell in that family!
The I remember having chores and stuff at a very young age in my family, but I think that happens because someone has to do them. The younger ones don't get them at such a young age bc there is already older siblings doing them! Doesn't mean that they don't work or help out, but the folks are sure as heck a lot more lenient towards the younger ones (tired of literally running around by that time). Plus, there's something to be said about babysitting that the younger ones don't have to do... or they do it for other people and get paid for it!
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