Data Reveals Children Who Complete Chores Report Higher Self-Confidence and Achieve Better Academic Outcomes

Key Takeaways:

• Children who complete more chores report greater self-confidence.
• Performing too many chores may have a negative impact on a child’s academic performance.
• Children from lower-income families experienced the same academic boost from performing chores as those from higher-income families.
• Children who performed chores found the biggest increase in “life satisfaction” than the other categories.

As kids return back to school across the country this month, don’t forget how beneficial chores can be for social, academic, and life satisfaction. A recent long-term study from the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital found that children who perform more chores entering kindergarten perceive themselves as more competent in social, academic, and life satisfaction domains by third grade compared to peers who did not complete many chores. 

“What the results of the study from researchers at the University of Virginia suggests is that the more opportunities children have to engage in developmentally-appropriate activities and opportunities such as chores, with appropriate scaffolding from their parents, the more confident they are likely to be in their own abilities in other areas as they advance through development,” said Dr. Joe Raiker, PhD, Joon’s Director of Clinical and Scientific Strategy.

Children who complete more chores report great self-confidence

Across the board, children who helped with chores at least “sometimes” rated themselves much higher in their peer and social relationships. In fact, there was a direct correlation, with “mean scores [higher] with each increase in the frequency of performing chores.” In the “good at academics” and “life satisfaction” categories, the mean scores did not increase in each subsequent chore frequency category, although there was a positive association in the overall trend.

Performing too many chores may have a negative impact on a child’s academic performance.

Across math, reading, and science, children who performed chores at least “sometimes” scored better than those who “never” did. However in each category of chore-performing students, those that performed them “very often” scored the worst. It is hard to determine exactly why this trend took place, but the authors suggested the frequency of household chores may interfere with academic endeavors based on past studies that support this notion. And although the finding isn’t statistically significant, it is worth considering if there is a point of diminishing return for children doing too many chores. 

Children from lower-income families experienced the same academic boost from performing chores as those from higher-income families.

The study took a relative equal weight of families with household incomes of below $40,000, between $40,000 and $100,000, and families exceeding $100,000. After adjusting for this confounding variable, and others, the association between more chores and improved academic performance held true. So, while lower income families may not have the resources that higher income families do to aid in their child’s academics, chores are a free way to boost performance. The same relationship held true between parents with less than a high school degree and parents with more than a college degree.

Children who performed chores found the biggest increase in “life satisfaction” than the other categories

Of the four categories the children self-reported on, Life Satisfaction yielded the biggest improvement when comparing children who “never” performed chores to those who did it “often” or “very often.” This supports a widely held notion that regular household contributions at a young age may contribute to the development of self-competence and self-efficacy, defined in the industry as “one’s belief in one’s ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task.”

These analyzed data from nearly 1,000 children entering Kindergarten between 2010 and 2011 participating in a long-term follow-up study. During kindergarten, parents reported how often their children completed chores. Those children were then followed until third grade, at which time they filled out a questionnaire regarding their perceived interest and competence across multiple areas including academics, relationships, and life satisfaction, and broken into the reporting categories of peer relationships, pro-social, good at academics, and life satisfaction.