Kids can boost their brainpower by cooking, gardening and cleaning around the house, according to new research from La Trobe University.
Researchers studied 207 children who are regularly involved in household tasks, like making meals and caring for plants. Researchers found that they are associated with better planning, self-regulation and remembering instructions. Also, researchers said the study’s results suggest household chores could have benefits for children’s executive functioning(执行功能).
Collected from children aged 5 to 13 in mid-2020, the results show 86 percent of kids put their dirty clothes for a wash in a hamper and clean up after playing, but only 59 percent make their own bed. Older children are more likely to do chores than younger ones and girls do more chores than boys. For example, only 49 percent of boys but 70 percent of girls make their own bed.
Loading the dishwasher is a job for 55 per cent of children, including 50 per cent of boys and 61 per cent of girls. Only 34 per cent of five to seven-year-olds do this task, rising to 64 per cent of those aged 11 to 13. “Parents may be able to use age- and ability-appropriate chores to promote the development of executive functions,” said Ms Tepper, the lead researcher of the study. “Children who often cook a family meal or help in the garden may be more likely to excel in other aspects of life—like schoolwork or problem solving. ”
Ms Tepper said making a meal or cooking for others was linked to better working memory and the ability to think before acting. “Typically, these skills begin to develop in early childhood and continue to develop into late adolescence and early adulthood,” Ms Tepper said. “Impairments(缺陷) or delays in executive functioning development can lead to difficulties in the ability to self-regulate, plan and solve problems as adults, which would possibly have bad effects later in life on reading performance and mathematical ability, as well as predicting overall academic achievement in later childhood.”
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