Etc...

Oh, Junior, would you come help Dad with the taxes?

Even if parents aren't always able to rope their children into mowing the lawn, washing the dinner dishes, or walking the dog, many of them still manage to enlist their computer-oriented offspring to put aside playing video games or hanging out with friends at the mall to help at home in other ways. According to results of a national survey of more than 6,000 8- to 14-year-olds by Stars for Kidz, a provider of market research on young consumers, 47 percent of respondents provide "cyber-assistance" of one sort or another to their technology-challenged parents. Some (14 percent) even reported helping Mom and Dad prepare or at least file their income-tax returns electronically. The top online "chores" children help with around the house, from the Stars for Kidz' survey:

⁊ Sharing pictures and e-mails with relatives 38%
⁊ Accessing movie listings 38%
⁊ Helping to craft invitations and plan for a party 36%
⁊ Planning for vacation/travel 36%
⁊ Researching driving directions 35%