What household chores do parents not let kids do?

Believe it or not, sometimes kids really do want to help out their moms and dads around the house. But sometimes, they would rather do things themselves than ask us to pitch in. Here are few things where we could be a big help:

• LAUNDRY Parents don’t want kids to do laundry for many reasons. My mom would say: “You’ll mix up all the colors” and “You’ll break the machine — you don’t know how to work it” and “Your baby sitter will do it, and if you do it she’ll have nothing to do.”
• BABY-SITTING Even if you want to help out, sometimes some parents would rather have an older person look after the younger ones. Parents might think that you’re too little (when you are almost 13). If they do finally allow you to help, they will make sure that you put down emergency numbers 20 times and make sure you know where they are. I get it, they are just scared.
• MOWING THE LAWN When I ask my dad if I can help him with the lawn he says, “Sure. Go grab scoopers and scoop up that pile over there.” One day I asked, “Can I use the lawn mower?” And he said, “Heck, no!” He said it was because I was going to get out of control, make it break down or that I was going to cut the grass way too short.
• COOK DINNER Typical parent says no way, you can’t cook dinner on the stove because you will burn the house down. You are only allowed to make frozen meals using the microwave or toaster.
• CHANGE BATTERIES IN SMOKE ALARM OR CHANGE LIGHT BULBS My dad says that I will break the light bulb (well, I am a bit of a klutz) or not put it in right and then break it. Or he says that I will set off the alarm or break the whole thing.

Frances Barricelli and Joan McLean’s sixth-grade class, St. Agnes Cathedral School, Rockville Centre