WHO DOES THE HOUSEWORK? (B1)

Who does the housework?

30.01.09 –

Liz Parry

The answer to “Who does the housework?” in Spain used to be obvious – the housewife. And the mother taught the daughters to cook and clean and sew, while the sons played with their toy cars. That was two generations ago, and there are women of 30 who still complain that as children, they were made to make their brothers’ beds before they went to school. Of course, things have changed a lot, particularly now that women usually go out to work as well as running their homes – although there are figures that show that on average, women spend 4.55 hours a day on domestic duties, and men just 1.37.
Given the trend towards greater equality, you might think that boys are now learning to do household tasks, or at least some of them, on a rough scale of 5.55:1.37, but apparently, equality has taken a different form among children. Nowadays, according to child psychologists and others writing on the website http://www.solohijos.com, parents think that the time they spend with their children should all be time spent having fun, playing and going out, and children are growing up thinking that they have no domestic obligations or responsibilities at all.

So neither boys nor girls are being taught to lay the table or pick up their toys, and in later life, says neuropsychologist María Luis Ferreros, “they” (the children) “feel confused because they have been living outside reality”.

Who does the housework?
Independencia y responsabilidad	Independence and responsibility
Hay que tener tiempo y paciencia	You need to have time and patience
Autonomía y actitud positiva	Autonomy and a positive attitude
Con dos años los niños pueden recoger sus juguetes	At two years old children can tidy up their toys
Con cuatro o cinco pueden dar de comer a la mascota	At four or five they can feed the pet
Con seis o siete años pueden limpiarse los zapatos	At six or seven they can clean their shoes
Hacer un bocadillo, ayudar a hacer la lista de la compra y dejar su ropa en la cesta de la ropa sucia	Make a sandwich, help make the shopping list, and leave their clothes in the (dirty) clothes basket
Los niños mayores pueden hacer la cama, pasar la aspiradora, barrer y fregar el suelo	Older children can make the bed, vacuum, sweep and mop the floor
Guardar la ropa limpia en el armario	Put clean clothes away in the cupboard
Sacar la basura y lavar el coche	Take the rubbish out and clean the car
Atar los cordones de los zapatos	Tie shoe-laces
Hacer los deberes sin que se lo recuerden	Do their homework without being reminded
Mantener la habitación ordenada, tender la ropa	Keep their room tidy, hang out the washing
Todo esto es muy divertido	All this is great fun