Great Expectations: Kids, Work, Life

Here's what I wanna know: Who's paying for all these studies yielding relatively useless information?

Some guy named Felix Werneken has done a lot of research to determine that the human capacity for altruism emerges as early as 18 months old. Warneken dropped a clothespin, looked over at the baby who quickly crawled over, picked it up and handed it back. No rewards given, none expected.

Not for nothing but, big deal. Isn't it just the ultimate irony that the littlest ones are those who want to help? I mean, they're cute and all but, let's face it: they can't actually do much. They may try and we may encourage this behavior because we hope that the day will come when they, indeed, are capable, productive members of the family and of society in general.

My own, ongoing, chapter two of this study, however, yields far more eyebrow-raising results: Come age 5 or so, kids completely lose any sense of altruism they once possessed. Gone! Disappeared! Not to be seen again, depending on the sensitivity of the human in question, until they're around 30 (though college kids do sometimes exhibit such compassion, especially when it falls in direct conflict with the aims and positions of government authorities). 

It's not that my kids don't "help" at all--it's just that they don't do it just because it would make their mother happy or keep the house neater or any such do-gooder motives. No, they do stuff because I demand it or threaten to take prized perks away: TV privileges, playdates and so forth. With older kids, like my 9-year-old, good old capitalism inspires household involvement: No work, no allowance. What do you make of that, Mr. Warneken?

To paraphrase that saying about youth:                                                              Altruism is wasted on the (youngest of the) young.

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