Chores and kids definitely do not go hand in hand.
No matter how 'nicely' you tell ask your child to set the table or vacuum the living room, there is always some kind of resistance.
Whether it's "they don't have the time", or have LOADS of homework to do ('cause that'd prefer to do that...), getting kids to do chores is tough work.
And it is so easy to give up and just do it yourself.
However, the latest research which says chores help kids grow into successful adults may motivate you to push them a little bit more.
According to Julie Lythcott-Haims, author of the book How to Raise an Adult, kids NEED to actually do their chores in order to be successful when they grow up.
Speaking at a TED talk back in October of last year, she explained: "If our children are to develop self-efficacy, amd they must, then they have to do a whole lot more of the thinking, planning, deciding, doing, hoping, coping, trial and error dreaming and experience of life for themselves."
Talking about our need to treat grades and awards "as the purpose of childhood" in order to get them a good job or college course, Julie added:
"We should be less concerned with the specific set of colleges they might be able to apply to or might get into and far more concerned that they have the habits, the mindset, the skill set, the wellness to be successful wherever they go."
We hear ya, Julie - we just wish our kids would listen to you as well.
