Focus on U.S. immigration and U.S. education: In China, if a child actively helps their parents with chores, they are often praised for being filial. However, the same behavior is not considered extraordinary by foreigners. This may stem from the differing educational approaches resulting from cultural disparities between China and the U.S. It is important to recognize that, compared to many Chinese parents today who over-indulge their children—often leaving them without self-care abilities even after reaching adulthood—the educational strategies of American parents are indeed significantly more sophisticated.
In the United States, most children have a chore list. American parents believe that involving children in housework not only eases the burden on parents but, more importantly, allows children to better feel that they are an integral part of the family, fostering independence and a sense of responsibility from an early age. Furthermore, they design age-appropriate chores for different stages of development. For example: 9-24 months—throwing away diapers; 2-4 years—taking out the trash, tidying toys, watering flowers, and feeding pets; 5-7 years—making the bed, setting the table, wiping the table, and cleaning their room; 8-12 years—preparing simple meals, cleaning the bathroom, and using the washing machine; 13 years and older—changing light bulbs, cooking, doing laundry, and mowing the lawn...
Through this comparison, we can see that Chinese children often do almost no housework throughout their decade-plus upbringing. This is because Chinese parents are generally eager for their children to excel, placing a higher priority on academics and believing that providing a distraction-free, high-quality learning environment is the most important task to ensure their child's success. Conversely, American parents believe that cultivating a child's independence and autonomy is the primary task of education.
Therefore, we must acknowledge that there are many practices and experiences in the American approach to educating and cultivating children's character and personal development that are worth learning from. For instance, a sense of competition permeates American society and every family; everyone relies on their own abilities to earn a living, and there is no sense of personal dependency. Consequently, the idea of "earning money with one's own hands" becomes a subconscious and voluntary behavior for children, and diligence and thriftiness have become a prevailing social standard.
