Chores ? We all have to do it, and we all want to avoid it. But according to scientists, there is an advantage to doing them, especially for children. Indeed, research says that children who do chores are more successful in life as adults.
What does science say?
In the Harvard Grant Study, the longest-running longitudinal study in history, spanning over 75 years and counting, from 1938 to today, researchers have identified two things that people need to be happy and successful:
The first ? Love.
The second ? The work ethic
And what is the best way to develop the work ethic of young people? Based on the experiences of the 724 most successful students who participated in the study, including people like President Kennedy and Ben Bradlee, editor of the Washington Post at Watergate, there is a consensus: a state of spirit of mutual aid.
According to Julie Lythcott-Haims, former Dean of Stanford University freshmen and author of How to Raise an Adult, children have to do chores to be successful adults. By having them do chores such as taking out the trash or doing their own laundry, they realize they have to work to be part of life.
Lythcott-Haims also says that if kids do not do the dishes, it means someone else is doing it for them. They are thus not only taught about work, but also about learning about this work and the fact that each of us must contribute to the improvement of the whole.
Lythcott-Haims went on to say that children who grow up doing chores become better employees as they develop skills that allow them to work both as a team and independently. They are also more likely to be empathic to others.
Some parents have also commented on this study by mentioning the difficulties of pushing their children to do small things in everyday life that are not even chores. For some parents, seeing their children brush their teeth by asking them this once, is considered a victory. And if they would ask them to do chores, they would listen, but they would whine and not do things the right way.
Other benefits of doing chores
According to the Center for Parenting Education, children who regularly do chores are also better at coping with frustration, having better self-esteem, and being more responsible for children who do not participate in housework.
Dr. Marty Rossmann of the University of Mississippi used data collected for more than 25 years, beginning in 1967, to determine whether asking children to participate in household chores from age 3 or 4 helped to predict success of children in their twenties. The study showed that chores instilled in children the importance of contributing to family life and gave them a sense of empathy in adulthood. Those who had done chores as young children were more likely to be balanced, to have better relationships with friends and family, and to be more successful in their careers.
But despite the benefits, according to Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, research shows that fewer parents force their children to do chores.
According to a survey conducted by Braun Research in 2014, 82% of adults surveyed said they had regular household chores during their childhood, but only 28% said they asked their children to do so. The reasons for not having to do chores were the increasing participation of children in school and extracurricular activities and the reluctance of parents to take on more responsibility for them.
According to Nicholas Long, director of the Center for Effective Parenting at Arkansas Children's Hospital, the fact that parents do not spend enough time in chores implies that they do not demonstrate to their children how to do them and therefore how to do them properly.
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