Parents and grandparents : Psychologists are strongly recommending that we give our children some chores!
That’s the message from family psychologist Dr. Richard Weissbourd. He says decades of studies have shown that simple household chores have big benefits for kids.
But these days, a lot of parents don’t make their kids do ANY chores. In fact, according to a new survey, only about 1-in-4 parents say they require their kids to help around the house.
But here’s the problem with that: Research from the University of Minnesota found that giving kids chores, starting at an early age, helps them build a lasting sense of responsibility and self-reliance. That explains why kids who started doing chores in preschool were more likely to achieve academic AND career success earlier in life.
Also, according to a Harvard survey of more than 10-thousand middle and high-school students, those who did chores were more empathetic and caring. That’s because they learned how to care for others, by doing chores that benefitted the whole family – and not just themselves.
