Household Chores As Kids=>Successful Adults

I remember my mother, a homemaker, working tirelessly to finish all household tasks single handedly. She would never let me do any chores, which even included my own work like packing my school bag till I was 10 or packing my lunchbox, etc. You too, probably; should be having similar memories of your childhood.


No wonder we and our significant better halves too, find household chores to be boring and painstaking. We find excuses to avoid them or blame each other for not being of help at home.


Perhaps, the way we were all raised is to be examined. A significant finding in Harvard Study lately, showed a connection between household chores and success. The findings indicated that children need to be engaged in household chores early on in their lives, for making them independent and successful in lives.


Success, is always a relative term. Here it indicates both, personal and professional success.. basically happy adults!

It's too late to turn the clock and do something about our childhood now, but we surely can avoid repeating the same mistakes our parents did. Here's how chores can add value to your child:


It gives your child an edge to excel at work in future:


If you allot 3-4 tasks to your kid each day, he needs to decide as to which one is more urgent, which needs for him to step out, may be to shop, time needed for each tasks,etc. In other words, he learns to take decisions based on priority. He learns to divide his time, so as to complete each task on time. We all know, he would need these qualities both at work and at home in future.


It allows them to be independent and learn to handle responsibilities:


As already mentioned, decision making is one of the skills your child learns by doing chores.  Incase of any family crisis, where you are alone or say, you not keeping well for a few days, wouldn't it be better that you kid is atleast able to make his own breakfast? After all, not all of us are lucky to have the support of our parents or maids.

Chores, thus help your kid to be more independent and ready for any situation.


Better equipped to do unpleasant tasks:


A simple chore like changing the garbage bags or putting out the dustbin daily, allows your kid to learn that it's ok to do tasks, seemingly dirty. A mother isnt the only designated person who is supposed to deal with every chore, even the dirty ones. 

There would be a lot of dirty roads your child may have to travel alone and difficult people to deal with in his life. So why not start young?  


They have a better understanding of sharing and collaboration:


Collaboration is an art, whether at home or work and not all of us find it easy. If you have more than one child, a proper distribution of chores amongst them, where they need to mutually decide and complete a task, increases sharing and teaches them the art of collaboration at a young age.


It takes some load off your shoulders too:


By allocating certain easy chores for your child to handle, you can get some time for yourself. You may choose to use this time constructively to do the things you always wanted to but cudnt find time to do them. 


So what are you thinking?


Depending on their age, you can decide the chores your kids can successfully complete. You need to train them to do the chores you want to at the beginning. You can choose to reward them by allocating financial targets with the completion of each chore.(many may beg to differ on the merit of this point). 

I believe, rewarding on completion of a chore is a form of appreciation and better than promising your kid a toy/a movie if he performs well in his exams. Try a different approach!


Self learning is the best form of learning and household chores makes your child learn more on his own. So, the sooner they start, the better. Help your kids learn and grow!