Help with household chores? Don’t ask English children!

CHILDREN in this country are less likely to help out around the home than peers in most other nations, a survey suggests.

Eight-year-olds here are ranked 14th in a ‘chore table’ of 16 countries – with only German and South Korean children doing less.

In England, only 47 per cent of children help their parents with household tasks every day – compared with 70 per cent in Romania and 62 per cent in Spain.

Norway, Israel and South Africa were among the other countries where children do more.

Across all countries, 56 per cent of children helped with housework every day.

A quarter did so once or twice a week, while 9 per cent helped less than this and the same proportion admitted they did so rarely or never. On average across the countries, girls spent more time helping with chores than boys.

The findings suggest that English primary school children also spent less time on homework than those in any other country surveyed. The research was published by the Children’s Worlds project, which surveyed young people across the globe.

Those who took part were asked about their family and home life, friendships, money and possessions, school life, local area, use of their time, personal wellbeing, views on children’s rights, and their overall happiness. The study also found English children are less happy than those in Romania, Poland and Algeria and have particular issues around body image and school. Eight-year-olds in this country came 13th in a ‘ happiness ranking’ of 16 nations – with only peers in South Korea, Nepal and Ethiopia faring worse. Self-image seemed a major issue. Youngsters here came in the bottom five when asked about their appearance and body, while Colombia and Romania came top.

Asked about bullying at school, a fifth of children in England said they had been hit by fellow pupils more than three times in the past month, compared with just 6 per cent in South Korea. Gwyther Rees of the University of York, which carried out the research in England, said: ‘Children are happy at home and with friends but less happy at school where there seems to be an issue around bullying and being left out.’

Children’s Worlds is funded by the Jacobs Foundation, a Swiss child welfare charity set up by the billionaire Klaus Johann Jacobs.

The Department for Education said 30,000 fewer children in England face the fear of bullying compared with in 2005. It added: ‘We are also promoting greater use of counselling in schools, improving teaching about mental health and joint working between mental health services and schools.’

Less homework and housework