ABSTRACT
Housework is essential for the healthy development of children. This has been emphasized in Chinese tradition for thousands of years, except that most parents nowadays prefer to waive kids’ housework for reasons like heavy homework, too naïve to finish housework well, too much work afterward, etc. Given the top importance of building a sense of control, a sense of belonging (e.g., to the family and school), a sense of life meaning in the healthy development of children, and the basic contributions of housework in the process of such building, it is disappointing to conclude that traditional wisdom in culture has not been well inherited in many families as indicated by investigations in kinder gardens, primary schools, middle schools, and universities in mainland China. Classic doctrine in traditional documents on housework is briefly introduced, as the collective unconsciousness of Chinese culture, for the reconnection between modern life and cultural tradition for the healthy development of children in both family education and school education.
