Generation gap, generally termed in terms of ideological differences between the old and young members of a family or society which in most cases old people have learned to change accordingly but this gap is turning to be worst in many other important spheres of life and is a cause of great concern.  Present generation may be turning technology oriented in general and networking savvy in particular but they are lacking in many useful aspects of life.  They are not taking the learning/training of daily life activities like cooking, cleaning, stitching or gardening etc. except technology use (like mobile, computer and deriving etc.) enthusiastically and are to face problems during their independent life. 

At one hand, young people may be good enough in handling/using all types of electronic goods which they should be for their benefit and with cautious use but on the other hand, they should also be knowledgeable about many things like name of trees of common use, ethics & intricacies of cooking, dressing, talking & respecting others etc. It is very unfortunate that modern parents to a large extent are not able to imbibe such a culture in their children.  They are asking them to keep away from such endeavors which they think can be managed by themselves or by servants with minimum payment. But it is not the question of self-doing or status or payment but handling activities like cooking, dressing, taking self care, self study, knowledge about nature all around us and gardening etc. is very important to be a true human being to enjoy life.

Girls/boys even up to a marriageable age are not aware of food items available inside the kitchen. They do not have practice of cooking, ironing and cleaning etc. which they think their parents to manage and parents also do not involve/encourage children to learn. Young people of today are becoming either too isolated or involving in chatting through mobiles too much. They need to have a balanced growth of temperament with a useful knowledge which can help them in leading a comfortable living.  You cannot expect a grown up child in a house to prepare even a cup of tea for you, leaving aside other cooking possibilities. In earlier days of our schooling, I remember picnics arranged by our teachers every year in which all the students in groups have to go with utensils and cooking items and then cook some dish at the picnic spot and share all the experiences with each other as well as with teachers. Presently, such endeavors are gone with visits to science cities/zoos/tourist places etc. with fast food or homemade items. Exposure of children to these things is good but more important is their exposure to daily works at home.  Earlier these things were learnt by children as a routine work in homes but modern generation is shunning away more and more from these activities.

Indian cinema and TV media always uses to highlight the importance of house works for girls in particular where as the knowledge of these works is equally important to both girls and boys. With the independent living life style becoming more popular among young people it will be good for both sexes to be well versed in house chores to lead a comfortable life than leading a dependent life.  These things seems to be very small in comparison to the expertise of children with electronic goods like mobile, ipod, TV, video-camera, computer etc. but perfection is required in house works which comes with practice under a patience supervision. A person to run a house in a well planned manner has to have qualities of a manager (to manage money, things, people, house), engineer (to perform all the works with perfection) and doctor (taking care of cleanliness, health and taste). Involving children in the house work is something that would probably appall most parents. Firstly because they do not want their child to get down and dirty, and secondly because they think the child will not be able to do it properly. Well, both reasons can be harmful for your child. The first one is harmful because everyone must learn what hard work really is. The second reason is harmful because it makes your child dependent and unsure of his own capabilities. Children, who learn about hard work and responsibility early on, turn out to be successful individuals. Parents have a great responsibility to share and exercise in order to make their wards a perfect human being. They should encourage/motivate their children to go ahead with practice of learning all the daily house works including marketing so that children have no problem in leading a comfortable life thereafter.  Instead of wasting time and money in learning or practical classes arranged by the so called child specialists to train children for house works (with giving practice of making tea, omelet, toasting bread and making Maggie etc,) parents must involve their children on regular basis in every house hold activities with great patience so that children should not feel discouraged.

Presently, children are not learning how a house runs until their late teens. In rural India the situation is still better than in urban and semi-urban India because children in rural India still participate actively in the house hold works to help their family member and in the process they perfect themselves in such activities.  There are a lot of intricate details to running a home that they are ignorant of. But this may not really be good for their development. It is important that the child should be as independent as possible at the earliest. The more he understands household chores and how a home functions, the better it is for both parents and child. Being responsible for certain tasks around the house also makes him more mature and responsible. It also makes him understand that the family must divide work equally to function well. If you’re like most parents, you would like your children to help with housework, but it’s not easy. You bribe, cajole, beg and threaten and then end up doing the work yourself. Parents have to be diligent and consistent. The reward and natural consequences system isn't always easy. Sometimes it's actually harder than simply punishing a child or doing things for the child. But it does yield the best long term results. And it teaches kids responsibility and skills for when they are adults themselves. Remember that persistence is the key here. If you stand your ground, chores will soon become easier and the whimpering will fade away.

Completing house chores are important for children because it teaches them that every family member is responsible for the house they live in. It also gets them accustomed to work, which is something they will be doing for the rest of their lives. When giving a chore to your child, show her the proper way to get it done. Don't expect her to just go and do something when he/she does not know how it is to be done. Once you have shown how to do the task, and he/she doesn't do it right, make him/her do it again until it is done properly. The time to teach children good manners starts from the time they are old enough to understand simple commands and follow through with them. This is usually between the ages of 18 months and 2 years. In fact, studies have shown that teaching children good manners at an early age will help them develop a better sense of respect for others that will stick with them throughout their entire lives. On the other hand, if you are interested in teaching your child good manners at an older age, that is just fine, too. Better to learn them later than not at all. Children learn from having chores. They learn responsibility and they learn to be part of a family. Children that do chores on a regular basis tend to do better in school, have better social skills and have greater self-esteem than those that do not do chores.