As much as you love to pamper your adorable munchkins, it might be time to start teaching them responsibility. One way to do that is to get your kids involved in chores. An entire household to look after can really take its toll on the amount of quality time you spend with your kids. In addition to that, cleaning will teach your kids to be tidy and help them appreciate your hard work more. You can also leave the exasperating and difficult household tasks to professional cleaners and just do some light cleaning with your kids. Contrary to popular belief, by hiring a professional, you will teach them to respect people from all walks of life, plus they’ll still see the merit in taking part in some of the chores. You can try some unorthodox cleaning methods together to make cleaning more interesting. We’ve set up a list of suggestions for cleaning with kids that are both engaging and fun!
Cheat Your Way through Cleaning with Kids
You can deliberately leave out some of the easier chores from your cleaning routine for the kids to do. That way, they’ll feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, making them more likely to look forward to the next little project. For instance, they can dust and reorganize their bookshelves by color, or fold their clothes by order of preference.
Scavenger Hunt (with Cleaning)
If there’s a mess in their room, try using it to your advantage. Hide objects they hold dear somewhere in the room, beneath a pile of clothes or among their toys, and present the kids with a list (or drawings if they can’t read) of these objects. Tell them they get to keep the objects only if they clean the room and not make an even bigger mess. Searching the room for these hidden objects while cleaning it will teach the kids to be more thorough and organized in general. The quest can also entail a search for candy or other goodies that you know they enjoy.
A Prize for the Praiseworthy
It goes without saying, we all love incentives. Luckily for you, it works even better with kids who really know how to appreciate the little things in life. Don’t think of it as bribing them but as rewarding them for hard work and dedication. The only trick is to not announce the prize beforehand. Once they’re finished with their cleaning tasks, congratulate them on a job well done and tell them about the surprise. You can take them to the movies, their favorite restaurant or simply prepare delicious treats at home!
Organize a Competition
A little competition can go a long way. Assign smaller cleaning projects to your kids or, better yet, assign one to each family member. You can design a starboard with names on it and award stars according to performance. This way, your little busy bees will literally see how much respect you have for their work and be motivated to contribute to household chores on regular basis.
