: They are absolutely not the same thing. By offering thanks you are NOT
: offering praise - you are expressing your appreciation that something you
: thought needed doing was done.

: My kids have chores. When Ben empties the dishwasher, that's his JOB - but I
: still say 'thanks'. Because it's the polite thing to do.

: Whatever. You want to be an asshole about this, go for it. I tried. :(

You're right, I may be mixing thanks with praise, but I'm still not going to provide thanks for them fixing things that they themselves broke, especially when there's still so much broken. I'd prefer to thank them for a job well done, not a job half finished (if that). In your example, sure, he's doing his job and what's expected of him, so of course you say thanks, because he did it and I assume he did it right. If he doesn't do his chores fully, instead slowly but surely cleaning up bit by bit over the course of weeks or months, do you still say thanks? Is it okay if he washes half the dishes and leaves the other half dirty? Would you thank him then? I can't say I would.