Are Chores Helpful or Hurtful to Children?

Our counselors in Spanish Fork exclaim a resounding Helpful!

An 85 year ongoing study conducted by Harvard Research shows a strong connection between doing chores and later professional success and happiness. The findings showed that shared responsibilities help children develop greater self-worth, confidence, work ethic, and empathy for others.

In her recently published book “How to Raise an Adult,” author Julie Lythcott-Haims, former dean of freshmen and undergraduate advising at Stanford University, argues that household chores help kids build responsibility, autonomy, and perseverance — traits necessary to becoming capable adults. She states, “When young people have been expected to roll up their sleeves and pitch in, and to ask how they can contribute to the household, it leads to a mind-set of pitching in in other settings, such as the workplace,”

Don’t let soccer practice, or even calculus homework stand in the way of shared household duties and tasks. Having to fit in chores outside of responsibilities that we sometimes deem more important, or more apt to getting them into college, teaches kids (among other things) time management – a skill that will serve them throughout whatever path they choose for their life.

So when should kids start pitching in? A University of Minnesota analysis of data collected over a 20-year period found that the best predictor of success in young adulthood, on measures related to education completion, career path, and personal relationships, was whether they had begun doing chores at an early age — as young as 3 or 4.

If your kids don’t have regular chores now, it’s never too late to get them started, said Richard Bromfield, a psychologist on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and author of the book “How to Unspoil Your Child Fast.” Have a clear idea of what you would like your kids to do, he advised, and discuss it matter-of-factly.

Our counselors in Spanish Fork support you in your efforts and wish you GOOD LUCK!