Housework boosts children's cognitive abilities

Scientists from the Australian University of La Trobe decided to find out if doing chores around the house can help a child with the development of cognitive and executive functions.

AT researchExecutive functions and household chores: Does engagement in chores predict children’s cognition? / Australian Occupational Therapy 207 parents of children aged 5 to 13 from 15 countries in Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania took part. Parents answered a series of questions about the household chores their children do: what do they do, for whom (for themselves, the whole family or pets) and, of course, whether they agree with this work and how well they perform.

The researchers then analyzed the data using statistical regression tests to determine whether home help was associated with their academic achievement. The main hypothesis was the assumption that such routine tasks stimulate the development of memory inhibition (that is, the ability not to remember unnecessary information) and working memory (short-term memorization of information with the possibility of processing it to solve current tasks).

This assumption is not unreasonable: earlier researchAssociations Between Household Chores and Childhood Self-Competency / Journal of Development & Behavioral Pediatrics showed that some types of housework during childhood can have a positive effect on executive function. In addition, most household chores require self-regulation, focus, planning, and task switching, which also supports the development of executive functions.

The authors of the study note: “A child who is able to cook dinner or take care of pests in kindergarten, is more likely to excel in other areas as well, including mastering the school curriculum and solving tasks".

One interesting observation is that the researchers assumed that caring for the animals would do the best. Interactions with animals are known to improve mood and act as social support, which helps with executive functions. In fact, it turned out that this had little effect on the result.

Most families reported that the child plays with the animal and gives it food and water. That is, the level of involvement cannot be called low. This is probably because filling the bowl with food or water is not a difficult enough task to help develop executive functions. But more complex and multi-stage tasks like cooking are more efficient.