They are perhaps the most privileged children in the country. But the royal children, Princes George, 11, Louis, six and Princess Charlotte, nine, are still expected to muck in at home.
Last week, a royal insider revealed that the Prince and Princess of Wales expect the children to help with all manner of jobs around the house — including laying the table, clearing plates after dinner and help with tidying up.
Now, growing evidence suggests that helping around the home might not only teach them how to cook and clean, it could also make them smarter, more sociable and healthier, according to research.
Below, we reveal exactly which household jobs boast the biggest benefit for kids — and the intriguing science that shows why chores could transform their health.
The Prince and Princess of Wales prefer to raise their children without employing staff at Windsor
The Princess of Wales has been determined to make sure things carry on as normal for her children
Scientists have pinpointed specific chores that are linked to the biggest health benefits.
And at the top of the list is gardening.
Weeding, potting plants and mowing lawns has been linked to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels in later life, potentially reducing the risk of heart attack and type 2 diabetes.
That’s according to a US based school garden program that saw the benefits in children as young as seven years old.
‘School-based gardening programs improve dietary intake, academic performance, and reduce metabolic diseases in even the most high-risk minority pediatric populations,’ researchers wrote in the study, published in JAMA Network Open in 2023.
Weeding the garden and chopping up veg could keep your children healthy. Not only will the little helpers be giving you one less thing to do, it could also teach them about nutrition, lower their blood sugar and cholesterol levels
For the programme, called Texas Sprouts, school children age seven to 12 had 18 one hour gardening lessons throughout the year in which they were taught how to cultivate plants and turn their harvest into healthy meals.
Parents were also invited to classes to brush up on their nutritional knowledge and as a result, these children started to eat more vegetables and fibre which improved their blood sugar levels.
Researchers at the University of Texas measured the student’s height, weight, and body mass index (BMI), their insulin, glucose levels and the fat in their blood — all indicators of risk of types 2 diabetes.
They found taking part in the gardening lessons was linked to a 13 per cent improvement in the stability of blood sugar (making children less likely to snack on junk).
It also resulted in a reduction in cholesterol — fatty deposits that build up in blood vessels, damaging them and increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
When it comes to boosting brain power, all chores could serve some benefit, according to research.
A 2019 study by experts at the University of Virginia involving almost 10,000 primary school aged children asked pupils about their maths, science and reading abilities and compared it with the number of chores they carried out at home.
The results showed that the more chores a child performed, the better the said they scored academically.
Children who rarely did chores were 25 per cent less likely to say they did well in class and 27 per cent more likely to be in the bottom group for self-assessed life satisfaction.
They were 24 per cent more likely to be in the bottom group for relationships with other children.
The researchers also found that youngsters who carried out chores often also performed better in maths, reading and science tests compared to those who never or rarely did jobs household jobs.
Studies show that the more chores a child performed, the higher their self-confidence and the better they scored academically, especially in maths and science
Researchers at the University of Virginia also found the self-confidence that gives them an academic boost also helps them become happier and more sociable
Researchers have also found evidence to suggest that this increased academic performance could lead to higher incomes.
An 85-year multigenerational study by researchers at Harvard found a strong connection between doing chores in childhood and professional success later in life.
The backgrounds of more than 700 high achievers were researched and it revealed a strong work ethic was one thing that helps adults to be both happy and successful.
University of Virginia researchers also found that children who rarely help out around the house are up to 30 per cent more likely to be dissatisfied with their life.
Getting your children to help cook the dinner may also improve their problem solving skills and working memory.
Research from 2022 published in Australian Occupational Therapy Journal found that children who were required to help out with family meals were more likely to exhibit better academic performances and problem-solving skills.
The study looked at parents of 207 children aged between five and 13. They were quizzed on the number of chores their children completed daily — such as cooking and tidying up — and their child’s memory and ability to move focus on different tasks.
Children who helped with ‘self-care’ chores such as helping make the family meal were more likely to have a better working memory and inhibition.
Deanna Tepper, the researcher who led the study, said: ‘Children who cook a family meal or weed the garden on a regular basis may be more likely to excel in other aspects of life – like schoolwork or problem solving.’
She explained that delays in the development of a child’s executive function can lead to difficulties in their ability to plan and problem solve as adults.
