Children who help with the housework are more likely to be successful in life, study finds

Here’s a good way to encourage your kids to help out with the housework – tell them if they do it, it will help them reach their goals.

Scratching your head? 

Well, according to a recent study, children who help around the house with chores are better at maths and science than those who don’t help out.

Kids who help with the chores are more likely to be successful in life!

Paediatricians from the University of Virginia studied 10,000 primary school-age children.

They found that children who do chores, such as washing the dishes and hoovering, had greater self-confidence and did better academically. Those who didn’t help out, were up to 30 per cent more likely to be dissatisfied with life.

Experts believe that helping with housework encourages children to develop self-confidence which then drives academic success.

“It is reassuring to find that traditional parenting practices, such as enforcing household chores, is associated with positive child development,” says Dr Elizabeth White, who led the study, which was published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioural Paediatrics.

“Our study findings support the idea that regular household contributions at a young age are associated with the development of self-confidence in early childhood.”

In another study, the Harvard Grant Study, researchers found that people need two things in order to be happy and successful in life: love and work ethic.

“[The study] found that professional success in life, which is what we want for our kids … comes from having done chores as a kid,” says author Julie Lythcott-Haims, who wrote the book How to Raise an Adult.

“The earlier you started, the better. [A] roll-up-your-sleeves- and-pitch-in mindset, a mindset that says, there’s some unpleasant work, someone’s got to do it, it might as well be me…that’s what gets you ahead in the workplace.

“By making them do chores — taking out the garbage, doing their own laundry — they realise I have to do the work of life in order to be part of life. It’s not just about me and what I need in this moment.”

• Try some of our kid-friendly lunchbox recipes here.
• Read why kids that sneak into their parents’ bed are cleverer adults.
• Try these exercises that you can do with the kids by your side.

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