KATHMANDU, Aug 19: Riya Karki likes cleaning her bedroom. Perhaps imitating her mother, she doesn’t hesitate washing the lighter clothes either. A resident of Gyaneshwor, 14-year-old Riya studies in class eight and she can also cook.
Many school children while changing their uniform leave it strewn all over their room. The socks are left somewhere and the school books are scattered on the bed. The tea cup will not be left to the appropriate place.
Child literature litterateur, Binay Kasaju says that one should set a habit of doing the tasks that we are capable of from childhood. “This habit will help in their self development, knowledge and skill development,” says Kasaju.
Doing small chores will not hamper their studies. Riya says that the time after her homework and tuition is over is spent in doing chores around the house. She is good in her studies too. This helps in doing one’s chores and remaining disciplined.
Riya started helping with chores since she was 10. One should not do chores that we aren’t capable of, she says. Time should also be respected. She states, “During my study hours, my mother never asks me to do any chores.”
“Doing small chores also helps parents,” she says. Sometimes, we can’t find things we are looking for. Right when we’re leaving for school, we can’t find our pencil, and sometimes our water bottles. Socks and shoes is always scattered. If we have the habit of arranging our things, we will never have to worry about searching for them frantically. “This habit of doing small chores develops our habit of struggling and even make the things we do successful,” says Riya.
13-year-old Srijana Timilsina from Maitidevi also likes helping with chores. Her daily works consist of cooking, washing the utensils and cleaning her room. Also from Maitidevi, Bimala Tamang stands fourth in her class. Apart from her studies, she spends her time in cleaning her room and decorating it.
Avinash Sodari, 14, from Kalopul, does small chores around the house in his free time. The grade eight student helps to buy things from the shop, fills water and also helps his mother.
Compared with Avinash, his sister, Shristi works more. After she finishes her homework, she arranges clothes and cleans the room. Her mother, Ambika, says that Shristi does the chores on her own account.
She says that children who help with the chores benefit from higher confidence and remain active. Hailing from Sindupalchowk, she states that children from villages have a habit of working from a younger age compared to children in the cities.
Pointing to Shristi, she says, “Village children will already have started to cut grass at her age. The habit of working makes them strong for any kind of situation.”
Kasaju says that children in Japan and Korea start helping with the household chores from an early age. “In the West, children seem to be more liberal in their decision making,” he says.
According to Kasaju, children get the knowledge of the society, the traditional skill and knowledge if they start working at a tender age. “Due to this habit children develop their respect towards their parents and the work,” he says.
The idea that if children work, their studies will be hampered is a wrong one states Kasaju. “Those who pass SLC in the first division have also helped in their household chores,” he shares.
He further says that children who are studying should not be given work more than their capability, harmful work and also should not be made to work for a long time.
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