Making your kids do age- and time-appropriate chores is not child abuse. It makes you a good parent. Chores lead to better executive functioning in a new study from La Trobe University, published in journal Australian Occupational Therapy.

Executive functioning includes working memory, focusing on a task at hand, ability to move between tasks, and ability to monitor influx information and use it appropriately.

The study looked at questionnaire responses from parents/guardians of 207 children between the ages of 5 to 13 years old. Questionnaires asked about number of chores children do on a daily basis and their child’s executive function. They found that those who did chores on a regular basis lead to increased ability to plan, self-regulate, remember, and focus on tasks.

Types of chores reviewed included self-care, such as making a meal for themselves, and family-care, helping others in the household lead to improved memories.

While past studies have shown engaging children in age-appropriate chores led to increase feelings of autonomy and lead to prosocial behaviors and greater satisfaction in life, this study showed that chores also led greater executive functioning…which probably helped explain the prior findings.

Obviously children need time to play and learn, but delegating age-appropriate chores that respect children’s time, is part of good parenting.

DL Tepper et al,\. Executive functions and household chores: Does engagement in chores predict children’s cognition?. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal.  DOI: 10.1111/1440-1630.12822