Can Chores Improve Academic & Social Skills?

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🚌As our kiddos prepare to head back to school, we as parents want to prepare them to be both academically as well as socially successful. What is one of the best ways to promote lifetime success in children?

According to a large Harvard research study of kindergarten age children who were then followed up in third grade, one of the best ways to assure your child’s success was to give them routine chores. Chores…yes chores!! The results showed the higher the frequency of routine chores in children of kindergarten age, the higher their academic scores, and social scores were in third grade. These findings were independent of income, parental education, or gender. Children regularly assigned routine chores demonstrated higher self competency and life satisfaction scores.

Routine chores that are age appropriate for children help to foster competence, responsibility, independence, and self-direction. These self disciplines then can be carried over into academic and social success.

Key Takeaways:

✅Start when children are young with age appropriate tasks

• Picking up toys
• Helping with laundry folding
• Pet care
• Tidying room and simple housekeeping chores
• Cleaning up after meals

✅Be consistent

• Establish a routine and stick to it
• Provide clear reasonable expectations
• Offer praise for completed work

✅Be prepared

• Attitude is important (place boundaries on grumbling as unacceptable)
• Allow room for learning
• Advance responsibility as appropriate
• Incorporate fun and creativity
• Build self discipline
• Foster sense of accomplishment

🧹🧼Back to school is the perfect time to begin incorporating these chores and disciplines into your child’s and family’s daily life. The dividends will be well with worth it for your child as well as for you as the parent!

Reference:
https://hms.harvard.edu/news/sparing-chores-spoils-children-their-future-selves-study-says

Back-to-School Bedtimes

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​🚌With back to school just around the corner, now is the time to start easing into the back to school bedtime routine. Children may be accustomed to a more relaxed bedtime schedule during the summer months, but with back-to-school, bedtime routines may need to be reestablished.

👚The transition is easiest if the routine is eased into approximately two weeks before the first day of school. A 15 minute earlier bedtime every few days the two weeks prior to school starting, helps the transition go smoother. In addition, the week or two prior is a great time to work on preparing clothing each evening that will be worn the next day. If preparing clothing and belongings needed for the next day is done the night before, the routine will go much smoother In the mornings for off to school timeframes.

🛌 Bedtime routines should be handled with a matter-of-fact approach with your child and should be consistent. It is important to set a time preceding the actual bedtime to accomplish the bedtime routine activities so that the actual bedtime can be accomplished without delay. Working with your child to develop a consistent bedtime routine that meets your child’s individual needs and assures adequate sleep on a nightly basis is important. 

😴Adequate sleep is essential for optimizing children’s physical and mental health. Lack of sleep can affect children’s normal growth and development including brain development and neurocognitive development. Too little sleep can impact a child or teen’s social and behavioral health. Lack of sleep has been implicated in poor school performance, behavioral disorders, and as a contributing factor in ADHD. In addition, sleep is essential to a healthy functioning immune system providing resiliency in fighting colds, flu, and infections. 

💤Children should spend approximately 40% of their time asleep during childhood. The AAP recommends the following sleep guidelines for children:
Infants: (4-12 months) 12-16 hours including naps
Toddlers: (1-2 yrs) 11-14 hours including naps
Preschoolers: (3-5 yrs) 10-13 hours including naps
Grade schoolers: (6-12 yrs) 9-12 hours
Teens: (13-18 yrs) 8-10 hours

✅Guidelines for Bedtime Routines:

1. Turn OFF screens at least 1-2 hours before bedtime.💻
2. If screens are needed for homework in the evening use amber blue-light blocking glasses.😎
3. Keep TV, phones, and screens out of the bedroom.📲
4. Avoid wearable devices with wi-fi during sleep.⌚️
5. Avoid caffeine and sugar in the evening.🥤
6. Establish a consistent bedtime routine.🛌
7. Snuggle, cuddle, and have storytime for children before bed.📚
8. Keep pets out of the bedroom.🐶

If your child experiences back-to-school sleep struggles, Wellness 4 KIDS is here to help! Contact us for a free discovery call.

References:
Childhood Sleep: physical, cognitive, and behavioral consequences and implications.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12519-022-00647-w

AAP endorses new recommendations on sleep times.
https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/6630/AAP-endorses-new-recommendations-on-sleep-times?autologincheck=redirecte