Studies Find That Children Who Do Chores Growing Up Achieve Greater Professional Success As Adults

Dec 07, 2022 by apost team

The stressors parents face are countless. It's easy to question and second guess every decision and wonder whether it will affect your child's future happiness or success. Am I offering them enough fruit and vegetables? Does Baby Mozart actually work? When is it too early to start French lessons? Moms and dads everywhere struggle to meet the demands of the ever-competitive world their kiddos are entering from an increasingly young age. How can they possibly prepare them to meet what seems to be a moving target? 

One small help may be allowing children to perform chores around the house. Studies, like the Harvard Grant Study, have tried to uncover the secret to lifelong success, and links have been drawn to something as simple as learning how to sweep up. 

The Grant Study began in 1938 with 268 college sophomores and has, over the decades, become the longest-running longitudinal study in history. Its goal remains to find and identify the sources of happiness and success. Results point to love and work ethic. 

The former dean of freshman students at Stanford University, Julie Lythcott-Haims, touched on the significance of the latter during her 2016 TED Talk. Speaking to her rapt audience members, Lythcott-Haims relayed how the Harvard Grant Study "found that professional success in life, which is what we want for our kids ... comes from having done chores as a kid." She continued, speaking to the implications of children not doing the laundry or helping with the yard work, "If kids aren't doing the dishes, it means someone else is doing that for them," which she went on to suggest may have greater implications.

Lythcott-Haims explained further what damage not picking up one's dirty socks might be doing: 

"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."

She suggested, "The earlier you started, the better," which some audience members found to be optimistic, knowing the frustration of trying to corral kids into just car seats, never mind chores. However, Lythcott-Haims stressed the importance of helping hands. She said, "(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 that's what gets you ahead in the workplace."

One blogger found the results particularly frustrating. In response, she wrote: "Do you have any idea how much (stuff) we already have to beg our kids to do any given day? I called today a victory because both of my kids brushed their teeth … If I asked them to do chores, they'd listen, but they'd whine. And they'd do a shoddy job. Ain't no momma got time for that noise ... Have you seen the results when a child sweeps the floor?" 

While many audience members can perhaps sympathize with that overloaded parent, Lythcott-Haims maintained that doing something as simple as taking out the garbage will help a child "realize (that they) have to do the work of life in order to be part of life. It's not just about (them) and what (they) need in this moment." Whether that's true or not, I'm sure most parents would agree that a little "thank you" would also go a long way. 

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Did your parents make you do chores? Let us know — and be sure to pass this article on to friends, family and any fellow TED Talk fans!