Participating in household chores

This paper presents an exploratory and descriptive-comparative study carried out in the Basque Country with a sample of 1651 children (N=857 boys and N=794 girls) aged between 9 and 18 years. The aim was to analyse the nature of children’s participation in household chores, as well as its sources of influence and consequences, specifically in terms of its link with the children’s development in diverse areas of competence. The results suggest that children’s participation in household chores: 1) increase with age in all types of chores, except those carried out by others; 2) is influenced by parents’ education level, children’s sex and age, attitudes to sex roles and diverse family climate variables; 3) fosters the development of diverse socialisation processes among children. Some of the benefits of children’s participation in household chores are discussed, along with its educational implications.

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Maganto, J. M., Bartau, I., & Etxeberria, J. (2003). La participación de los hijos en el trabajo familiar. Revista de Investigación Educativa, 21(1), 249-269.