9 Boring Weekend Chores From The 70s & 80s That Actually Prepared Kids For Real Life
Bruno M Photographie | Shutterstock '70s and '80s kids had chores growing up. It was part of life. Between bike rides and running amok until the streetlights came on, parents expected weekly chores to be done, and that included weekends.
Most of the required tasks were boring, and it felt like they were designed to be unpleasant. But parents weren't trying to be the fun police. They just knew that these life skills would be important in the real world. Nowadays, families are almost too busy to have set household chores, and most kids aren't complaining. They would much rather scroll TikTok than weed flowerbeds, but social media won't help set them up for success in adulthood.
Parents in the '70s and '80s made their kids do these boring weekend chores that prepped them for real life:
1. Raking leaves
In the decades before two-parent working households were the norm and travel sports took up precious free time, landscapers and yard services were exclusive to the really rich. Weekends were spent mowing, raking, planting, and weeding because a picture-perfect yard was and is just part of neighborhood living.
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Kids had to contribute. The silver lining of the chore was the possibility of jumping into the freshly raked pile at the end, like a recreation of Linus in "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown".
Despite the annoyance of doing this task, it helped make kids mindful about lawn upkeep and time management. During fall afternoons, when the sun sets quickly, you have to work fast in order to beat the solar clock. It was also a reminder that, unfortunately, yard work doesn't stop post-summertime.
Perhaps even more important than getting kids ready for a lifetime of weedwacking is the greater lesson that hard, repetitive work is sometimes required to yield results. Kids learn responsibility and the pride of a job well done only by doing the actual work.
2. Mowing the lawn
This falls in line with raking, but required kids to be a tad older because of the heavy machinery involved. Having a neat, nicely-mowed lawn was a symbol of status because it required constant maintenance and hard work.
Nowadays, we're blessed with lawn mowing services and ride-on mowers, but back in the '70s and '80s, when the sun seemed almost unbearable, push mowers were the only way to cut the grass.
Doing this weekend chore prepared kids for the endless responsibilities required with homeownership and simply holding down a full-time job. It was also a lesson in how important it is to keep your body strong and healthy so it can help you through hard work. Ultimately, however, it's about pride. Learning to be proud of yourself for completing something difficult that you don't want to do, but enjoying the results.
3. Ironing
If this was on your weekend chore list, it likely frustrated you because nine times out of ten, the clothes weren't yours. Most of the time, they were the button-downs and dress clothes that your parents would be wearing to work.
But now, you probably appreciate the good old ironing board not just because it makes you look sharp, either. There's no denying that an unwrinkled blouse is all about dressing the part to reflect your work ethic and the good habits that you keep. The bigger lesson, however, was about how to work as a team.
A family functions as a unit, and that means kids have to help their parents and parents have to be able to rely on their kids to get their chores done. Ironing dad's dress shirts wasn't fun, but it took the stress off his plate, and that made life easier for everyone.
4. Shoveling the driveway after it snows
You're not old enough to get your license, but somehow you're tasked with clearing the driveway of snow so your parents can back out the car. Since the piles probably weighed more than you, this chore left you sleeping well that night.
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It's a rigorous, exhausting task, but now that you own a car, you see its importance. Having a nicely shoveled driveway feels like luxury after facing the conditions of a nasty snowstorm, and it's necessary if you want to get to work.
Not to mention, it's a great workout. When we're filling up on holiday cookies in December, shoveling snow can help keep our cardiovascular system healthy.
5. Dusting the house
The '70s and '80s were significantly marked by the presence of collectibles. More particularly, the kind that you keep in a wooden shelving unit that gets dusty quickly. You were probably yelled at not to break your grandmother's vase or mother's collection of Precious Moments.
As tedious as it may seem, learning the importance of dusting the house at a young age is beneficial to your future self. By doing so, especially in a home filled with knickknacks, you learned the importance of indoor air quality and a minimalist style aesthetic. The American Lung Association recommends dusting your home on a regular basis. This will boost your lung health and keep people dazzled when they enter your clean home.
6. Vacuuming
In a similar vein, vacuuming is a chore around the house that cannot be skipped. The grime we accumulate over the week, whether it's from pets, children, or the dirt we track in on our shoes, can create a biological cesspool right on our carpets.
If you grew up in the '70s or '80s, you're well accustomed to cleaning out the vacuum bag or the bulky machine that you lugged around to rid the shag carpet of crumbs. Alison Cashin from Making Caring Common at Harvard explained, “Chores offer a window into the unseen work that keeps a household running. As kids help with tasks like setting the table or unloading the dishwasher, they begin to understand the work that goes into managing a household. ”
While you might've despised running the vacuum through the house as a child, you now know how much better the house looks and feels when it's clean. It also makes it a lot easier to clean before guests come over when you're already regularly tidying up.
7. Washing the car by hand
For the individuals who grew up polishing the exterior of their dad's car, going through the car wash at your local gas station probably seemed like a luxury. But not only did the frustrating weekend chore teach you to practice gratitude, but it also taught you the value of saving money by doing a job yourself.
In this economy, no deal at Shammy Shine can offset the cost of gas. The aesthetics of your car are the last priority when filling up the tank makes a dent in the mortgage payment.
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But if you are someone who likes a clean car, washing it by hand is the perfect solution. You don't have to worry about a service damaging your car, and who knows your car's exterior better than you do? Doing it yourself can ensure that you get exactly what you want without forking over money that could be spent elsewhere.
8. Cleaning out the gutters
If you forgot that you did this chore as a kid, it's probably because you haven't cleaned them out yourself in quite a while. In fact, most people forget to do it periodically.
Kids don't know the struggle of busting out the ladder to teeter up to the gutters anymore. While dealing with the grime that builds up, ranging from leaves to animal droppings, was a pain, doing so protects the house's foundation and minimizes the risk of water damage.
When you become a homeowner, the lengths your parents took to protect their home don't seem so crazy anymore. As much as you hate it, being taught to take care of the little problems before they become bigger ones is a lifelong lesson that'll stick with you.
9. Weeding the garden
Spending a hot summer day pulling out weeds was torturous when you knew the neighbors were running through the sprinkler to cool off. The only fun you got to indulge in was drinking from the hose.
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Maybe this wasn't ideal as a child, and it certainly created some pent-up frustration. But if you inherited your parents' knack for growing plants, then you understand the importance of getting rid of the weeds before they choke out your budding vegetables.
This chore might not have been fun when you were a kid, but gardening as a hobby has been shown to have countless health benefits, improving the overall quality of life. If you grew up with this weekend task, you'll reap a much better harvest of whatever you end up planting, and you'll be happier and healthier.
Gabrielle Mattes is a writer working towards a Creative Writing degree. Her focus is lifestyle, wellness, human interest, and relationships.
