Children's participation in household labor: Child socialization versus the need for household labor

Abstract

Despite the scarcity of studies of children's participation in housework, it has been established that children contribute a significant amount of total household labor. However, research on why some children contribute more than others has yielded ambiguous results. Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households(J. A. Sweet, L. Bumpus, and V. Call [1988], working paper NSFH-1, Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison), this study tests two competing theories of children's labor participation. The first, dealing with child socialization,proposes that parents assign household chores to children as a socializing experience (e.g., to promote responsibility). The second posits that children are used as a labor source whenever structural constraints prevent adults from performing the necessary chores, and alter the demand for household labor.The results indicate that children average 7 hours of housework per week, representing 12% of all household labor. Both theories receive support, yet the pragmatic aspects of households (e.g., adult labor force participation) receive greater confirmation.