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There's a reason your children are prone to tantrums when you ask them to wash the dishes — chores are not fun. After all, who wants to spend 20 minutes scrubbing crusted-on tomato sauce instead of watching Frozen for the millionth time? But instead of avoiding the tears and just washing everything yourself, you should hold your ground. Why? It turns out kids who do chores are more successful adults.
"By making them do chores — taking out the garbage, doing their own laundry — they realize I have to do the work of life in order to be part of life," Julie Lythcott-Haims, former dean of freshmen at Stanford University and author of How to Raise an Adult told Tech Insider. Lythcott-Haims also spoke at a TED Talks Live event about her research, which she based on a Harvard Grant Study which happens to be the longest-running longitudinal study ever conducted.
"If kids aren't doing the dishes, it means someone else is doing that for them," Lythcott-Haims said during her TED Talk. "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 also believes that kids who grow up doing chores will be better employees who have the skills to collaborate with coworkers, will be more empathetic towards others and can take on tasks independently.
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And, hey, this also means that you don't have to do the dishes after making dinner. So really it's a win-win if you ask us.
You can watch Lythcott-Haims' full TED Talk below.
Lauren is a senior editor at Hearst. She was previously the senior editor at WomansDay.com and the home editor at GoodHousekeeping.com and HouseBeautiful.com. Her book club, ramen, and jean jackets are a few of her favorite things.
