Aristeo Gregorio grew up in a place where work and sweat were synonymous with life. Simply enjoying a glass of water came only after he or one of his siblings sojourned to a communal well. The Gregorios did not have running water in their Guerrero, Mexico, home.

Illustration by John Clark

Chore charts, homemade or commercially purchased, can guide children through household duties that can help them develop a work ethic. Being part of a successful family means each doing his or her part.

Now Brother Gregorio, his wife, Edubiges, and their four children enjoy three bathrooms and a double-sinked kitchen in their attractive Herriman, Utah, home. Gone, for them, are the days of subsistence living — a stark lifestyle where children assume chores and duties often integral to the family's survival. Brother and Sister Gregorio feel blessed that their four children — ages 6 to 16 — do not have to work simply to eat. Still, they want their children to know work.

"Our kids need to learn that responsibility is important," said Brother Gregorio of the Herriman 2nd Ward, Herriman Utah Stake.

Good parents across the globe hope to instill a solid work ethic and a sense of responsibility in their children. Latter-day Saint families living in rural areas or in developing countries may not have to search for chores for their sons and daughters. Cows must be milked, chickens fed, water fetched and crops gleaned. But what about the ever-growing number of urban Church-member families: parents and children living in multi-lot subdivisions or apartments? How can young people learn about work and family duties when work opportunities seem limited?

Church leaders have offered direction.

"Teach children to work," directed Elder James E. Faust, then of the Quorum of the Twelve, at the April 1983 priesthood session of general conference. "Every household has daily chores that children can be responsible for."

And from Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve: "It is the duty of children to obey their parents, to learn and to help with household chores."

Clara Melendez's Southern California home is miles removed from the nearest tractor, or dairy farm. Still, she says, her three children — ages 6 to 11 — stay busy and pull their family load around home.

"We don't live in a big house, but my oldest son, Michael, can still take out the trash and all the children take turns watering our small garden and pulling weeds," said Sister Melendez of the Raymond Ward, Fullerton California Stake.

Beyond that, Sister Melendez and her husband, Daniel, assign each child age-appropriate duties. They try to follow the "independence rule": Never do for children what they can do for themselves.

Six-year-old Mari Elena, for example, is responsible for getting herself dressed and picking up her toys each day. Michael, 11, is old enough now to help his parents with the laundry, sorting whites from the darks. All the Melendez children wash their own dishes after meals.

They even earn a little allowance money each month helping pick up trash around the apartment complex that the family manages. And recently, they began collecting newspapers to contribute to their ward's youth recycling fund-raiser.

Many families have found hanging a chore chart to be helpful. Most follow a system of mapping out a child's weekly or monthly duties. Adhesive stars or other little stickers mark a child's successes like a box score from a baseball game. Chore charts are commercially sold, but some families have fun making their own.

Sister Melendez admits she could do most of the household chores quicker than her children. But, she adds, the youngsters are learning that being part of a successful family means each doing their part.

The Melendezes hope their children's around-the-house duties will serve them well later in life. Life's rewards, they've learned, usually come about via elbow grease.

"The kids know that their responsibilities have to be met before they do fun things," Sister Melendez said. So mornings are typically filled with household chores and a little reading and math homework to stay fresh for the upcoming school year. The afternoons are all about being a child in the summer.

"That's when we go to the swimming pool, take a bike ride or the kids play on the computer," Sister Melendez said.