Chores — we all have to do them, and we all want to avoid them. But scientists say there is a benefit to doing them, especially as a child.
"By making [kids] do chores — taking out the garbage, doing their own laundry — they realize I have to do the work of life in order to be part of life," says author Julie Lythcott-Haims.
"If kids aren't doing the dishes, it means someone else is doing that for them," Lythcott-Haims said in a TED Talk last September. "And so they're absolved of not only the work, but of learning that work has to be done and that each one of us must contribute for the betterment of the whole."
Lythcott-Haims went on to say children who grow up doing chores become better employees as they gain skills that let them work in both team settings and independently. They are also more likely to be empathetic towards others.
According to the Center For Parenting Education, children who regularly do chores are also better able to deal with frustration; delay gratification; have higher self-esteem and are more responsible compared to children who don't help out with chores.
Need more reasons for assigning your kids chores? Doctor Marty Rossmann says chores not only improve familial bonds but they also give kids a chance to give back to their parents, making them feel like contributors to the family.
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