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Ask a child to wash the family car? That amounts to child cruelty, say parents By COLIN FERNANDEZ Published: 00:35 BST, 20 April 2025 | Updated: 00:38 BST, 20 April 2025 e-mail View comments Helping out around the house used to be key for teaching children the value of hard work, especially when it was rewarded with pocket money. But it appears the art of doing household chores is dying – and it is partly because parents think such efforts amount to child cruelty, a survey has found. In a sign youngsters are being increasingly mollycoddled, one in five parents claim it is harmful to make their children perform simple tasks such as making their bed or mowing the lawn.
Some 10 per cent even think it would be heartless to ask youngsters to do something as simple as washing the car. And the same proportion say their children refuse to do household chores anyway. For example, only 15 per cent of youngsters regularly clean the family car – which is 10 per cent lower than a generation ago.
Moreover, just one in five children help with lawn-mowing duties and about half take to hoovering around the house. A third never make their own bed – even if all the task involves is straightening the duvet. But cruelty concerns may not be the only reason behind the lax approach taken to youngsters' work ethic.
Some 10 per cent of parents think it would be heartless to ask youngsters to do something as simple as washing the car (file image) In a sign youngsters are being increasingly mollycoddled, one in five parents claim it is harmful to make their children perform simple tasks such as making their bed or mowing the lawn (file image) The survey of 2000 participants by Halfords also found 55 per cent of drivers prefer to wash their own car, with more than a third (38 per cent) willing to spend at least £190 a year on cleaners. This suggests many distrust their children when it comes to ensuring family vehicles are kept spick and span. Jamie Louram, of Halfords, said: 'A few decades ago, over the weekend, streets across the UK were filled with small rivers of bubbly water as Brits got out the bucket and sponge to give their car a clean.
'But today, around half of adults don't, and most don't make their kids do it either, meaning it risks becoming a lost art. 'But washing cars appears to be one of many things kids no longer help with - suggesting children today may just be the most mollycoddled generation yet. 'Washing your own vehicle can save hundreds of pounds a year and helps avoid drive-in hand car wash services that often use dirty water, harsh chemicals and jet washers which are simply too powerful and can take off paint or damage bodywork.
'So there is more than one reason to do it yourself.' Share or comment on this article: Ask a child to wash the family car? That amounts to child cruelty, say parents e-mail Add comment Comments 0 Share what you think No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
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