Why Kids Raised Doing Chores Grow up to Be More Successful Adults

Kids who do chores will grow up to be more successful adults.

There, we said it.

The value of assigning children household chores is something older generations took for granted. Unfortunately, this way of thinking seems to have slipped out of favor in recent years, much to the detriment of today’s kids.

"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’ research, which she based on the long-running Harvard Grant Study, found that not only are people who did more childhood chores happier later in life, they also go on to become better employees.

Simply put, kids that are raised doing chores know how to collaborate with their coworkers. They are able to see when someone is having a hard time because they’ve experienced struggle firsthand.

"If kids aren't doing the dishes, it means someone else is doing that for them," Lythcott-Haims explained. "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 good of the whole."

So, sit back, relax, and let the kids do the dishes tonight. And let them whine—they’ll thank you later.