Parents who don’t let their children help with chores tend to have more problems when they become teenagers.

Some people think that children are too fragile and clumsy to help with household chores, but there is evidence that points in just the opposite direction. Several surveys have concluded that little ones are not only interested in collaborating with household chores, but also perform certain activities perfectly. And the best part is that they carry these habits into adolescence and into adulthood.

O awesome.club summarized the conclusions reached by several studies to show how important it is for the future of children to allow them to assume responsibilities in household chores.

In Western civilization, many people think that a child is synonymous with extra work, not help with small jobs — and these are very different things. They are people who simply give up the strength that the little ones can give in household chores. For many parents, their children are unable to perform certain jobs at home satisfactorily, which makes them completely overwhelmed. On the other hand, there are those who even want the children to help at home, but end up resorting to bribes or threatening the little ones with the imposition of punishments.

As we view work, especially household chores, as activities that people normally don’t like to do, this is the message we end up sending to children. But we are totally wrong! Studies have shown that children, even as young as 12 months old, naturally want to help. And when authorized, they continue to take responsibility for housework until they reach adulthood. When the opposite happens, the little ones can become teenagers and even adults who don’t feel the need to do their part or help with the household routine.

Child development psychologist Harriet Rheingold led research that looked at how children aged 18, 24 and 30 months interacted with their parents. The person responsible for the child performed regular household chores, such as dusting furniture, sweeping or picking up objects from the floor to organize them, all without asking the child for help. Parents were instructed to perform each task at a slow pace, allowing their children to help if they wanted. Ultimately, all 80 participating children volunteered to help, completing half of the tasks with enthusiasm and motivation.

This isn’t the first time young children have been willing to volunteer for work. Harriet Rheingold’s discoveries represent a global phenomenon. Let’s look at indigenous communities, for example. In such groups, fathers and mothers see their children as natural work partners, not helpers. From an early age, they gladly accept the efforts that the children make to help, even if they take a little longer on the task.

The indigenous people know that children who carry out tasks not only feel satisfied after a job well done, but also carry the habit of helping into adulthood. One study compared how often 8-year-olds take the initiative to do housework and found that little ones living in the Western world rarely volunteer, while 74% of children in indigenous communities do so regularly.

And don’t think that the childish desire to help is motivated by an interest in winning rewards, like candy or something like that. Studies have shown that wanting to do household chores has nothing to do with an external motivation, but an internal one. It is a way for the child to strengthen his bond with adults and to be useful. In fact, when the habit of helping is rewarded, children are generally less willing compared to those who receive an honest smile and a “thank you” at the end of their efforts.

This was tested in an experiment in which one group of children was rewarded for helping a scientist, while the second group received no reward for the same activity. The first group continued to help the researcher only in 53% of the cases, while 89% of the children in the unrewarded group offered to help again.

Therefore, the next time your child offers to help, remember the conclusions reached by the studies cited in this post and gladly accept the help of the little one. Thus, you will be helping to form a selfless and solidary future adult.

Do you agree that allowing children to help around the house encourages responsibility in them? In your opinion, what are the best tasks that parents can delegate to their children in the daily life of the home? Comment!