11 Chores Boomers Were Forced To Do Growing Up That Kids Today Just Ignore
If you ask a boomer if kids should still have to do these chores, chances are they would say yes.
pikselstock | Shutterstock.com While a great deal of the tension and resentment fueling heated debates between different generations today is rooted in misunderstandings and fear of change, there’s something to be said in favor of many of the chores boomers were forced to do growing up that kids today just ignore. While Gen Alpha and Gen Z kids have become immersed in the new technological landscape, it's no surprise that baby boomers are now reflecting nostalgically on the household tasks that defined their own childhoods.
Of course, despite not doing the same chores as their older counterparts, kids today still benefit from taking part in their own set of household responsibilities. While they look different in an evolving world with new technologies and tricks for cleaning, cooking, and organizing, parents today who want to set their kids up for later success know how important it is to assign them chores, even if they might be less time-consuming or laborious than back in their own parents' days.
Here are 11 chores boomers were forced to do growing up that kids today just ignore
1. Cleaning the floorboards
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Online discourse around cleaning culture and household chores often forgets the chores boomers were forced to do growing up that kids today just ignore, not only because there are new-age solutions to make them easier, but sometimes because they’re not as common. With busy schedules and less time to clean available for many families, some of the chores baby boomers look back on are no longer a priority — like taking the time to clean the floorboards.
Yes, many parents still expect their kids to vacuum or Swiffer the floors, but how many are getting out a soapy bucket of water and asking them to scrub floorboards?
2. Mowing the lawn
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Especially as the cost of homes continues to rise and more families start their lives in more apartments or condos, it’s not surprising that mowing the lawn is one of the chores boomers were forced to do growing up that kids today just ignore.
Pew Research Center found that new families and individuals below 35 are “far more likely to rent” than their older counterparts, meaning they’re also less likely to have a yard, outdoor chores, or landscaping to be accountable for.
Alongside renting costs and homeownership, many parents today are also adopting more overbearing and protective parenting styles — worried about their kids’ safety, removing unsupervised play from their kids’ routines, and reducing hazards — including operating machinery like lawn mowers — from their kids’ lives.
3. Washing dishes by hand
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If you are parenting younger kids right now, you know the arguments about dishwashing etiquette are nearly constant. From arguing about leaving dishes in the sink to cleaning off food to properly loading the dishwasher, many of the chores boomers were forced to do growing up that kids today just ignore have turned into family fights.
While many people in older generations were made to do their dishes by hand without dishwashers at home, kids today rely almost entirely on the ease of loading and unloading the dishwasher, no matter how many arguments may be sparked about the best way to do it.
If there are leftover dishes, chances are they’re not being cleaned by hand — only set to the side to be added to the next dishwasher load.
4. Polishing shoes
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While many of the chores boomers were forced to do growing up that kids today just ignore are being replaced by more efficient practices, tasks like polishing shoes are simply no longer as popular as they were a few decades ago.
With the rise of casual wear and the popularity of sneakers — even in professional wardrobes — there’s no longer a need for kids to polish their parents' shoes. While they’re likely still responsible for doing laundry, cleaning floors, or even loading dishwashers, younger generations of kids today are off the hook for chores like ironing and polishing shoes.
5. Scrubbing the floors by hand
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In the era of Swiffers and hardwood floor vacuum cleaners, it’s impossible for younger generations of kids today to imagine having to clean the floors on their hands and knees. While cleaning experts argue families should be cleaning their floors weekly, in reality, this chore has become a much less common battle for parents and their kids — especially amid busier schedules with longer working hours and extracurriculars.
Clearly, in most households, scrubbing floors with a soapy bucket of water is one of the chores boomers were forced to do growing up that kids today just ignore.
6. Cleaning the windows
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While experts argue that consistently cleaning windows can help to increase a home’s value, even in the modern day troublesome market, the majority of households don’t have the time to commit to cleaning them, especially both inside and outside.
While baby boomers were responsible for maintaining window cleanliness, this is another one of the chores that’s fallen off in popularity, as more families must cut corners and sacrifice certain household responsibilities to save time in their chaotic schedules.
Some people also suggest that younger generations of kids are more burdened with their own chaotic schedules, filled with more rigorous academic expectations and extracurricular activities that reduce the amount of time they have to help with things like chores at home.
7. Canning foods
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While pickling and canning vegetables is arguably becoming more popular today, the majority of people in younger generations haven’t been responsible for helping their parents with this specific food-saving hack.
Whether that's due to a lack of knowledge about how to preserve foods or less time to actually execute and experiment with canning, many households prefer to save and spend consistently at the grocery store than to invest time into learning.
8. Washing the car by hand
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With the accessibility and affordability of car washes today, many people don’t feel the need to spend the time and energy washing their cars by hand. Research suggests that many people today are less concerned with maintaining a clean car anyway — with over 95% of car owners saying they only get a car wash once or twice a year.
Not only does this relieve kids of being forced into the chores baby boomers once had to adopt, it removes one more household responsibility from parents’ plates.
9. Raking leaves
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According to the National Wildlife Federation, over a quarter of homeowners leave their leaves where they fall, never raking them up to burn, dispose of or use somewhere else. Coupled with the rise of young families renting rather than owning a home, many aren’t even responsible for the landscaping and yard maintenance that boomer’s parents were growing up.
While raking the yard might have been one of the strenuous and time consuming chores boomers were forced to do growing up that kids today just ignore, it’s not out of ignorance or annoyance that they’re not doing it now, but rather a lack of necessity.
10. Setting the table
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Although research shows that consistent family dinners and shared meals have a profound impact on children’s emotional and physical well-being, they’re much less common in today’s world than they were when baby boomers were growing up. With busy schedules and less time, individual family members often fend for themselves, or at the very least, eat on different schedules instead of sharing a meal at a table together.
Without prioritizing family dinners, setting the table has become one of the chores boomers were forced to do growing up that kids today just ignore. There’s no longer a need for placemats, serving dishes, or the perfect set of cutlery at the table. It’s more about convenience now than ever.
11. Cooking dinner with their parents
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While many baby boomers have fond memories of being in the kitchen with their parents, helping to prepare vegetables and cook dinner in the evenings, it’s not a shared responsibility that many kids have today. Whether they’re fending for themselves, ordering in, or letting their parents take on the responsibility of cooking, it’s become one of the chores boomers were forced to do growing up that kids today just ignore.
Especially considering the rise in overprotective parenting styles — where parents are more concerned with safeguarding their kids from harm than challenging them with unsupervised play or even cooking — it’s no surprise that more kids in younger generations are more reliant on their parents for basic needs like cooking and cleaning.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.