As a mother of four teenagers, I always tell my children that homemaking is more than keeping a house clean. It is the career for which all others exist. I had to learn for myself that our prophets have taught that order, cleanliness and cheerfulness are all ingredients of a happy, spiritual home and then teach this principle to my family.

As parents and leaders, we must do the following:- Involve youth in food preparation. Take our children grocery shopping and explain how to read labels. Teach menu planning and find recipes consistent with the skill of each child so that he or she can have a successful experience preparing meals for the family. Each of our children has a night for which they are responsible to plan and prepare the evening meal.

- Teach clothing care. To appreciate our clothes we must help our youth first budget to buy them. In caring for them, some young people need to be taught what a marvelous invention the hanger is. As soon as our children are tall enough to reach the washer/dryer dials, we train them to care for their own clothing.

- Instruct in housework. Work alongside youth while helping them learn the basics of dusting, mopping, cleaning and other jobs. Each of our eight children has a designated day to wash dishes as well as other regular tasks. Help children create storage places for everything they own so they can easily replace items after use.

When young people learn homemaking skills and share in household responsibilities, they appreciate what they have and are better prepared for future missions and eventual success in their own homes. Parents also benefit and have time to attend to other necessary duties. - Sandra Savage Phillips, La Habra Heights, Calif.

What we did:

`Line upon line'

Our five boys, ages 10, 7, 6, 4 and 20 months, learn "line upon line, precept upon precept" the skills of homemaking by helping me pick up toys when they can walk. They often help me cook and bake. They have their own recipe book and practice what they learn when their turn comes to prepare refreshments for family home evening or school galas.

In family home evening, we learn the basics of sewing by sewing on buttons and using scrap fabric to make simple blankets.

However, the most learning is done day to day as they watch and learn from their parents' example and from each other. - Marion Chase-Seymour, Mt. Maunganui, New Zealand

Summer months

Summer months are the perfect time for our family to practice up on a few homemaking skills. Each child is assigned a day of the week to be in charge of the evening meal. With assistance, menus are planned, lists are made and shopping with comparison pricing is done. The first week, a child and I work together as necessary principles and skills are taught. Second week, I assist where needed. Third and fourth weeks, the child is on his or her own, unless my help is requested. As a child's skills and ability increase, the types of meals to choose from increase. - Rose V. Voigt, Marshall, Minn.

Cooperative work

As an elementary school teacher, I have been able to teach basic cooking and sewing skills by integrating the projects through the topics being taught in class.

All the students love to cook and have been afforded the opportunity to work cooperatively in the process. Supplies needed are brought in by the group participants. In order to do this, recipes must be read and the meaning of quantities understood. The students then prepare the food, all the while taking care that stove and/or oven temperatures are properly maintained, and that the cooking area and utensils are periodically cleaned.

Since homemaking skills are needed by all, boys must participate also. Over the years, students have made quilt blocks for wall hangings or small pillows. They have made dolls at Thanksgiving time or teddy bears in the spring. Upon finishing my class, the students know which types of fabrics are best for various projects. They know how to read and lay out simple patterns. - Susan Haas, Espanola, N.M.

Set the example

- Start them young and make the task their special part of cleaning the house.

- Set the example for them. If they see Mom or Dad doing "duty with a heart full of song," they can understand that household tasks aren't that difficult.

- Let them join in the first time you hear, "Can I help?" It helps little ones feel important, especially if they are praised afterward.

- Use songs and background music to boost the spirit of the work. A lively classical overture or Primary songs like, "When We're Helping," can make dusting furniture or cleaning a bedroom a dance instead of a drudge.

- Use occasional simple rewards, like fresh-baked cinnamon rolls or a ride in the mountains to recognize a job well done. - Bill Orndorff, Kaysville, Utah

Little treat

I was brought up in Ireland by a wonderful homemaker - my mother. A wonderful and innovative cook, she fed our family of four on strict food rationing during and after the Second World War. From the age of 4 or 5, I was taught to cook and garden (we grew vegetables and fruits to supplement our food rations). My mother would put my apron on me, stand me on a stool and teach me how to peel and chop and grate.

My mother awarded gold stars for weekly chores, and the family member who had the most gold stars at the end of the month got a little treat and was allowed to pick their own chores for a week. - Hilda Snowden, Hallett Cove, Australia

Necessary skills

My mother said, "You cannot teach a child something that you do not know yourself." I refer to homemaking skills today as "self-sufficiency drills" - skills necessary for today's survival. Practicing "skills and drills' at any age are vitally important in staying "sufficiency fit."

How to cook, sew, do laundry, decorate a house with cleanliness, fix a car, build cabinets, plan travel itineraries by figuring mileage and costs, and finance family vacations were no longer questions of "how-to." Each task was planned, taught or implemented in family home evening.

Learning to make a home happens in the home. I am grateful to my parents who modeled self-sufficiency by example with a positive attitude - "If we don't know how to do it, we'll learn to do it." - Lucia deSombre, San Jose, Calif.

How to checklist:

1 Involve young people in

shopping, preparing meals.

2 Have assigned chores; work

as a family, make it fun.

3 Be an example; be cheerful

when you do your own work.

4 Start when they're young;

make them feel needed.

Write to us:

July 4 "How to develop more gratitude as a family for freedom."

July 11 "How to overcome compulsive eating."

July 18 "How to develop positive leadership qualities."

July 25 "How to teach young people sensitivity toward people with disabilities."

Aug. 1 "How to make transition from being newly married to becoming new parents."

Aug. 8 "How to help your wife feel more appreciated as a homemaker."

Aug. 15 "How to help your husband feel more appreciated as a provider."

- Also interested in letters on these topics: "How to avoid greed," "How to be more resilient in day-to-day life," "How to help heal a family after a loved one has caused deep hurt," "How to avoid the gambling trap."

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