Cleaning a home is an important business, but, at the same time, it is a tiring, time-consuming, and not always attractive activity. That makes many occasions to have arguments about who or how the household chores are done. Present in many families. It is a family tradition to have disputes with teenage children about cleanliness, tidiness, hygiene, and housekeeping.
If we pay attention to some recent studies on the division of cleaning chores at home, it turns out that there might be some things deeper than laziness behind these kinds of discussions or debates. That does not mean that there is some family apocalypse behind every little dispute. However, considering the importance of something every day, like cleaning the house, it is worth reviewing these principles and assessing the situation thoroughly.
What can be behind an argument over housekeeping?
We should distinguish different parameters since the reasons for arguments over housework can be very wide. A discussion between parents and their teenage children about the tidiness and cleanliness of the children’s rooms is not the same as an argument in a couple about the responsibility for the division of household chores or the efficiency of household chores.
In the first case, regarding discussions about cleanliness with young children or adolescents, the age factor must be considered fundamental. Especially in adolescence, tidiness, housework, and cleanliness are not essential elements for most young people. That, which is hard for parents to understand, is a reality we must battle against daily.
The good news is that their responsibility also tends to increase as youngsters grow up. The worrying thing would be that the aptitude of a young person over 20 years old regarding the sharing of household chores, and the cleanliness and hygiene of their space and common areas, is the same as when they were 15 years old. In these cases, specialists agree there may be some weird behavior, respect for the family as a whole, and the dedication of the rest of the family unit to the common welfare.
Discussions in couples about household chores
That is another great classic, unfortunately. Here again, there are different parameters in the type of discussions that can arise in a couple about housework. One of the most common things is that these debates do not occur when one of the parties, most commonly the woman, is the one who carries the greater weight in the order and cleanliness of the house. When this happens, the partner who cooperates less does not generate debate. It is when the party that collaborates more demands a greater presence of both in these tasks when discussions arise.
One of the specialists suggests that many couples have not previously calibrated their involvement in the day-to-day. That is very common since there is a tendency not to look for points of conflict in the initial phase of cohabitation relationships. Therefore, if someone is tidy and likes to keep the house clean and tidy, he or she will probably make more effort than his or her partner if the latter does not care so much about these aspects. This may not initially be a problem over time, but it can become a serious one.