Don't deny your child the benefits of chores

With the holidays coming up, there are lots of opportunities for pitching in around the house. And while kids don’t always help willingly, there's good reason to kindly insist – and not only during the holidays. In fact, as with many old-fashioned things, chores have be found to be extremely beneficial to kids. They are such good teachers that, according to Dr. Marty Rossman, “The best predictor of young adults’ success in their mid-20’s was that they participated in household tasks when they were three or four.”

So, as you're teaching your kiddo to dust or watching them make soap bubble castles as they wash up, you can feel equally confident that they're building the foundation of a great future.

WHAT’S GOING ON?

Children’s participation in household chores is not only good for keeping the household running and parents sane; doing chores has also been shown to have many benefits for kids. Dr. Marty Rossman of the University of Minnesota analyzed longitudinal data on chores and concluded that participating in household tasks when young was “the best predictor of young adults’ success in their mid-20’s.” And, the long running Harvard Grant Study also found that people who did more housework in childhood were happier later in life.

So how are chores so good for kids? It's because they are opportunities to

build capability and competence and the sense of being a needed contributor
practice motor development and problem-solving
practice delayed gratification
develop the sense of cause and effect, eg. what happens when these jobs are done (or neglected)
teach life skills that will be needed to take care of themselves

Perhaps most importantly – even more than hard work and problem-solving (which also come from school work) – chores show kids the value of contribution, being part of a team, and delaying personal gratification for a responsibility to the greater good. Service helps knit people into a community and feel good about themselves in ways that personal gratification and consumption do not.

However, despite all these benefits, chores are not always a regular part of life for kids in modern American families, for a several reasons:

The toddler years, around ages 3 and 4, are the optimal time to welcome a child’s help and make a habit out of it, but this is often when it’s least “helpful”… because it makes big messes. Parents may discourage the help at this age, and a pattern is set wherein kids play and parents do the household tasks.
Children’s lives are increasingly scheduled with academic and enrichment activities; it can feel hard to add chores to the schedule, and without a clear idea of why they’re valuable, parents let them go.
Compared to entertainment, chores often feel like boring work. The subtle and long-term value fo chores is easy to miss, and kids may resist, delay, or otherwise make it feel like its too much effort for parents to insist.

If any of these dynamics sound familiar, read on for ways to capture the benefits of chores for your family.