People measure success in life in varying ways.
Most would consider completing their education a clear indicator of success.
The same goes for a flourishing career.
Then there are those that regard people as successful when they have healthy personal relationships with family and friends.
But what if there was a way for our kids to get a better chance of achieving all three when they enter adulthood?
Parents want nothing but the best for their children, and if a study by the University of Minnesota is to be believed, what they need to do for their kids to become successful in life is to get them to do household chores.
You read that right.
The study, which ran for about 20 years, says it has found that the best predictor of success among kids when they become adults is doing chores around the house at an early age.
By assigning age-appropriate tasks for your kids, you are essentially setting them up for success.
But why would children need to do chores to be successful in life?
10 Reasons Children Need To Do Chores For Future Success
1. Chores can teach them life skills.
In all likelihood, there are young adults out there who don’t know how to do their laundry, cook their food, or create a budget because they never got to practice doing them as kids.
By having them do chores as they grow up, you are extending them a huge favor simply because the skills they learn prepare them for an independent life.
With the chores they do over time, they will learn how to take care of themselves.
Being self-sufficient as kids can make dealing with the daily challenges of adult life much easier.
2. Chores will help them develop a strong sense of responsibility.
Assigning specific tasks in specific areas to children comes with the reasonable expectation that they will do them on a regular basis.
With their assignments, your kids will learn to take responsibility for them.
Learning how to be responsible at a young age will serve them well when they become adults and the tasks they will face are much bigger and may impact more people.
3. Kids will learn how to be part of a team when they do chores.
When getting kids to do chores, you are making them feel like they are part of a team where everyone has to contribute to achieve success.
You’re giving them the opportunity to work together, listen to others, help out other team members (parents and siblings in their case), and pick up other skills related to teamwork.
When they grow up and start to embark on a certain career path, working well with others shouldn’t be a problem.
4. Chores will hone your child’s ability to draw up plans.
The ability to plan is one skill that kids can gain from helping around the house.
With the task ahead of them in mind, they develop the capability to think ahead and figure out what needs to be done before they actually do it.
Over the years, their planning skills will evolve to the point where they become capable of looking at things from different perspectives, then incorporating them into their plan of action. It’s a skill that will come in handy when they enter adulthood.
5. Chores help develop self-esteem.
Assigning tasks to children is providing them an opportunity to accomplish things, and that sense of accomplishment when they complete their chores make them feel good about themselves.
With the knowledge that they have contributed and will continue to pitch in to what needs to be done around the house, kids will be able to build their self-esteem, especially with positive reinforcement from the people they care about the most.
6. Chores help children build their problem-solving skills.
Every chore presents a challenge for kids.
Loading up a dishwasher, for example, could be better if they manage to create space for more items.
Even picking up toys can be tedious unless they figure out a more efficient way of performing the task.
These are problems that require a solution, something which children will be able to do over time.
Now that’s one skill that will benefit them when they start living their own lives.
7. Chores allow them to develop empathy.
Psychologist Richard Weissbourd of the Harvard Graduate School of Education says that children possess an innate desire to be helpers.
Chores can build on that desire and teach them empathy and consideration for others.
8. Chores help build a strong work ethic.
Chores help children develop a strong work ethic.
This strong work ethic also helps children create an impression among their teachers in school.
When they’re old enough to get jobs, their bosses will surely value their work ethic as well, and that gives them a better chance for career advancement.
9. Chores prepare them for employment.
Chores may appear to be simple housework tasks, but they are a good and early way of getting kids ready for a work environment.
As they grow older, they could pursue odd jobs here and there, and the skills they learn from all those chores will definitely help when they do those jobs.
Everything they learn from their work experience will then eventually come in handy once they complete their education and embark on a career path of their choice.
10. Doing chores together is bonding time.
Your kids will likely open up to you more about what’s going on in their lives when you’re doing chores side by side.
It’s a chance for you to ask them about school while they’re wiping the dishes dry, or when you’re doing some carpentry work together.
And unlike the usual parent-child conversations where you sit them down for a talk, your focus isn’t solely on them because you’re both doing something, which can help them feel more at ease when talking about stuff.
Of course, just because your children do chores doesn’t guarantee that they will be successful in life, but at least they get a much better chance to succeed compared to those who have never lifted a finger to help parents out with the never-ending chores in their household.
Get your children to do chores now and you’ll be pointing them in the direction for future success.
About The Author
Samantha Green is the Content Marketing Strategist for BusyKid, the first and only chore and allowance platform where kids can earn, save, share, spend, and invest their allowance. A mom of two, she enjoys spending time with her kids and reading books to them.
