When we give our kids a chore list, they’re often extremely unhappy about it. However, the latest research suggests that this unhappiness is temporary and that taking on more chores will lead to a happier and more successful adulthood.
We can draw some fairly obvious correlations here, for example, a new adult in his first shared living situation (whether in a dorm, with roommates, or with a romantic partner) will have smoother relationships if he has the basic skills of washing his dishes, or mopping up when he tracks mud into the house.
However, some recent research suggests that it goes deeper than that, and that one key is in how the chores are presented.
This Connects To A Harvard Study On Happiness
To be clear, the data from a long-running Harvard study on happiness is frequently conflated with other studies regarding the effects of childhood chores. According to Piccalio, this conflation appears to have originated from a TED Talk by an author who cited data from research on childhood chores, but may have misattributed the source.
The Harvard study, which examined data on happiness, focused on how happiness spreads through social networks (i.e., groups of people, not social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter). It turns out that this does relate directly to the positive effect of chores during childhood.
Why? Because, as pointed out on Inc, the type of chores given and the way they’re presented have a direct effect on how one interacts with their social circle.
Here’s What The Harvard Study Found
The Framingham Heart Study followed over 4,000 participants for 20 years, examining their happiness and its impact on their social networks.
They found that both happiness and unhappiness surface in ‘clusters,’ and can spread across three degrees of separation, that is, if your child is friends with Bob, Bob is friends with Sally, and Sally is friends with Nate, your child’s happiness can be connected to Nate’s, and vice versa.
They saw a stronger connection between the happiness of two friends or family members who live within a mile of each other, and significant connections between spouses who live together, as well as with people and their neighbors.
The study describes happiness as something that can be spread among social groups by what is known as “social contagion,” and notes that it’s even visible in customer service, where the result of pleasant interactions can be seen in customer satisfaction.
So, How Does That Relate To Chores?
The Inc. article linked above suggests that when parents assign chores to children, they can help forge a connection to collective effort and community.
The idea is that you don’t just have your child wash the dishes; you have a conversation about how chores affect the family unit. You discuss that while Joe is washing everyone’s dishes, including Jane’s, Jane is sweeping by the front door, clearing debris that everyone, including Joe, may have tracked in; it’s a sharing that makes everyone better off.
Outside, this connection to the community becomes even more apparent because when your child mows the lawn, it has a positive impact on your neighbors. When your neighbor mows their lawn, it has a positive effect on your family.
It’s about chores, not as busywork or a way to earn an allowance, but as a key part of building a community, which teaches kids the idea of empathy, sharing, and interconnectedness.
What Else Do We Know About How Chores Affect Kids?
Other studies have examined the effect of chores on kids’ development and well-being. A study published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics found that children who had been assigned chores by kindergarten performed better in several metrics.
“The frequency of chores in kindergarten was positively associated with a child’s perception of social, academic, and life satisfaction competencies in the third grade…Compared with children who regularly performed chores, children who rarely performed chores had greater odds of scoring in the bottom quintile on self-reported prosocial, academic ability, peer relationship, and life satisfaction scores.
Kids who do chores at home, the study found, are also better at math by the third grade!
Psychology Today examined other studies and found that overall, the results show that chores have a positive effect on kids’ ability to manage health concerns, as well as on memory and impulse control!
What Should Parents Take From This?
Giving your kids chores will equip them with the tools for a more aware, socially connected, successful, and happy adulthood.
Children should start practicing basic self-care tasks (such as washing, brushing their teeth, and putting on socks) as soon as they’re ready, beginning with adult guidance and gradually transitioning to being personally responsible for them.
Household tasks can begin with taking care of their belongings — putting their books back on the shelf, toys back in the box, and shoes by the door. As kids take on more tasks, an emphasis on how these tasks relate to family connectedness and community will help them develop into adults with a sense of personal responsibility.
In turn, this may strengthen connections with friends, roommates, classmates, romantic partners, and loved ones, thanks to better self-awareness and more community-mindedness.
We recently wrote about the best chore apps for kids, which may be a great starting point on your journey to getting your children involved around the house.