Cleaning doesn’t have to be mom and dad’s job. You can get your kids involved with the cleaning process so that you’re not going at it alone. The majority of mess was probably caused by your youngsters anyway—they might as well help clean up. To get your children to help you clean up, try these following tips.
Keep it simple
Don’t overwhelm your kids with multiple tasks. Telling a teenager to clean their room will get you results, but telling a toddler or younger child to do it will result in distractions and maybe even tears. Give your children simple instructions that they’ll be able to clearly understand. For example, tell your youngster to pick up the Lego pieces instead of giving them the task of organizing the whole playroom.
Colour-code it
For toys that are out of place, give your children a colour. Each child gets a different colour that they’re in charge of. For instance, one kid has to pick up all the blue toys, while another is responsible for putting away all the yellow toys. When they’re done with their colour, give them another one; repeat this until all the toys are back where they should be.
Get some music going
To accompany cleaning time, pick tunes that your kids can sing along to. Let your kids dance while they clean to create a fun atmosphere. You can even play a freeze game where everyone must stop in place every time the music stops between songs.
The great cleaning competition
Have a cleaning contest with your kids. Give each child an area of a room and see who can clean it up the fastest. Do this for every room in the house but be sure that the game ends in a tie. You don’t want a tantrum from the kid who doesn’t win.
The Dust Bunny Olympics
If you have hardwood floors in your home, let your kids go skating for dust bunnies. Move all the furniture out of the way and fasten some cloths to the bottom of your children’s socks. They’ll have a blast skating around and you’ll have a dust-free floor.
Cleaning doesn’t have to be a chore if you get the kids involved. They may have so much fun cleaning the house with you that they’ll want to do it every weekend!
