Man shares list of childhood chores his dad made him do, sparks debate on social media over modern parenting

It all started with a single Instagram Threads post, nothing fancy, just someone sharing a snapshot of the chore list their dad gave them when they were eight years old. Before long, over a million people had seen it, and parents everywhere began arguing about how childhood should really work."My dad sent me my chore list from when I was a kid.. this shit started at 8 years old… my pop was the coolest man on earth but he had hella structure & rules in the house," wrote fatcarl_sp on Instagram threads.This wasn’t a short “do this, do that” note scribbled on a scrap of paper. It was two pages, typed out, organized like a real schedule. You had your morning routine, your walk-out-the-door-on-time checklist, and then your evening and weekend tasks.

Making your bed the second you wake up. Taking out the trash. Doing your laundry. For a lot of folks online, that level of structure was kind of refreshing, almost nostalgic.

And here’s the kicker: some people loved it. Really loved it."I want to know what Randolph’s consequences were for not doing a chore. We tried motivating our kids with allowance for doing the chores each week (want to teach them good money management, saving for things, tithing/giving some away, etc…), but it isn’t working.

I just informed them that not only will they not get their allowance, they will also receive a punishment. I’m still trying to think through what the punishment part will be.

I need Randolph to help!," commented one user.

"As a child who’s mom did everything for her, this is amazing. I can’t tell you how much I struggled as an adult at first trying to figure out everything I had to do, and also not be overwhelmed by it bc my mom did EVERYTHING for us growing up.

It just wasn’t realistic. You have to teach kids that this is just a part of life," wrote another."All I can say is BRAVO to Dad - I had a Chore list for my children, example - if I came home to dirty kitchen, I would not cook dinner they would have to fend for themselves (microwave canned Ravioli/Spaghetti, Ramen Nooles, PBJ or Cold Cut Sandwich, etc) homework was a must and a list of things similar to his list, but we were also busy outside the home socially so it was not an every day thing - they turned out alright as adults - it instills structure discipline & cleanliness," a third user wrote.

And then there was the bittersweet angle: some adults looked at that list and just wished their parents had done something like that with them. “I love your dad for this structure and responsibility. I also love that dad wrote this! This kind of structure is missing these days in a lot of households…it explains a lot,” wrote one user.“God. I wish my parents laid it out for me like this. Now at 19 living with my fiance, I struggle with cleanliness!” wrote another.

What it all comes down to

So why did this old-school chore list get so many people talking? Because it’s a mirror. It made parents look at how they were raised and compare it to how they are raising their kids now. And for a lot of people, that stirs up a mix of pride, insecurity, nostalgia, and doubt, all at once.Some saw structure and rules and thought. Others saw strict lists. And most ended up somewhere in the middle, saying basically: kids don’t need a two-page manual, but a sense of responsibility, and some real world practice, doesn’t hurt.And that, more than anything else, might be why millions of people paused, read that list, and felt compelled to react. It wasn’t just about chores. It was about how we raise kids to be humans in the world, messy, unpredictable, lovable humans who are figuring out life one bed-made-or-not at a time.