La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.
Aust Occup Ther J. 2022 Oct;69(5):585-598. doi: 10.1111/1440-1630.12822. Epub 2022 May 31.
The benefits of completing household chores appear to transfer beyond managing day-to-day living. It is possible that chore engagement may improve executive functions, as engagement in chores require individuals to plan, self-regulate, switch between tasks, and remember instructions. To date, little research has been conducted on household chores and executive functions in children, for whom these skills are still developing.
Parents and guardians (N = 207) of children aged 5-13 years (M = 9.38, SD = 2.15) were asked to complete parent-report questionnaires on their child's engagement in household chores and their child's executive functioning.
Results of the regression model indicated that engagement in self-care chores (e.g., making self a meal) and family-care chores (e.g., making someone else a meal) significantly predicted working memory and inhibition, after controlling for the influence of age, gender, and presence or absence of a disability. For families with a pet, there was no significant relationship between engagement in pet-care chores and executive function skills.
We strongly recommend that further research explore the relationship between chores and executive functions. It is possible that parents may be able to facilitate their child's executive function development through encouraging participation in chores, whereas chore-based interventions (e.g., cooking programmes) may also be used to target deficits in ability.
完成家务的好处似乎不仅限于管理日常生活。参与家务劳动可能会提高执行功能，因为参与家务劳动需要个人进行计划、自我调节、在任务之间切换以及记住指令。迄今为止，针对儿童的家务劳动和执行功能的研究很少，因为这些技能仍在发展中。
5-13 岁儿童的家长或监护人（N=207）被要求填写关于孩子参与家务劳动和执行功能的家长报告问卷。
回归模型的结果表明，在控制年龄、性别和是否存在残疾的影响后，自我护理家务（例如，为自己做饭）和家庭护理家务（例如，为他人做饭）的参与显著预测了工作记忆和抑制。对于有宠物的家庭，参与宠物护理家务与执行功能技能之间没有显著关系。
我们强烈建议进一步研究家务和执行功能之间的关系。父母可能能够通过鼓励孩子参与家务劳动来促进他们的执行功能发展，而基于家务的干预措施（例如烹饪计划）也可能用于针对能力缺陷。
