The Hidden Power of Everyday Tasks
Setting the table, preparing meals, folding laundry or doing DIY... These daily activities, often relegated to the rank of chores, are in reality gold mines for children's awakening and learning.
Amazing!
It may seem surprising, but this is what science reveals to us!
From a very young age, our children have an extraordinary capacity for learning, thanks to their exceptional cerebral plasticity.
Brain plasticity , or neuroplasticity, is the brain's extraordinary ability to change and reorganize itself in response to learning and experience.
In children, this plasticity is at its peak, meaning their brains are fertile grounds for new knowledge and skills.
And what about housework?
The superpower of housework
A 2022 study from La Trobe University in Melbourne found that children who participate in household chores from an early age develop better working memory and inhibition skills. These skills are crucial for academic success, particularly in reading and math, and contribute to overall academic achievement.
As early as 2002, Marty Rossmann , professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota, analyzed 25 years of data. She assessed the impact of household chores on the success of children as adults. Her study showed that children who participate in household chores from the age of 3 or 4 adapt better socially. They maintain better relationships with their loved ones and achieve professional success.
To reach this conclusion, measures of individual success such as educational completion, career entry, IQ, relationships with family and friends, and absence of drug use were used.
From Small Gestures to Big Successes
But how can cutting carrots, setting the table or doing DIY promote academic, professional and personal success?
These daily activities are the perfect training ground for developing essential skills:
Reasoning, working memory, cognitive flexibility, cooperation, language, self-confidence...
Essential skills to achieve your goals
These skills, as Adele Diamond, a specialist on the subject, explains, are essential for navigating life successfully.
We use them every day, even every hour, in all aspects of life: at school, at work, and in our personal lives.
When we lack these essential skills
When they fail us, acting in an intentionally thoughtful, controlled and organized manner becomes a challenge, making it more complex to achieve our goals.
This is why experts consider these abilities essential and call them the biological foundations of learning.
The Word from Harvard
- “Coming to school with a solid foundation of these executive functions is more important for children than knowing their letters and numbers.”
- “Providing children with the means to build these skills at home, in early education programs, and in all other settings in which they regularly experience them is one of society's most important responsibilities.”
And let's not forget one of the essential qualities of daily tasks: daily moments of sharing with family. Young children crave them, as do their brains, because these moments of language and connection help them develop!
In summary:
While seemingly simple chores, household chores are actually treasure troves of learning and family sharing. Involving children in these activities meets a fundamental need for their intellectual, motor, and emotional development.
Sources:
M. Rossmann (2025). “Involving Children in Household Tasks: Is It Worth the Effort?”
Tepper, D.L., Howell, T.J., & Bennett, P.C. (2022). "Executive functions and household chores: Does engagement in chores predict children's cognition?" Australian Occupational Therapy Journal.
Diamond, A., & Lee, K. (2011). "Interventions shown to aid executive function development in children 4 to 12 years old". Science (New York, NY)
National Scientific Council On The Developing Child. "Building The Brain's 'Air Traffic Control' System: How Early Experiences Shape The Development of Executive Function", Working paper 11.
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