Parents often have a rough time getting their kids to do their chores and clean up after themselves. But it’s important that they learn how to take some responsibility for their own mess. So here are some ways that you can trick kids into taking a more active role in helping you clean. They’ll have so much fun they won’t realize they’re cleaning the house.
Give Them Kid-Size Supplies
There’s nothing kids want more than to grow up, which is why they’re always emulating mom and dad. So, go ahead and buy cleaning supplies like dustpan, brooms, squirt bottles and rubber gloves that are miniature-size. This will make them feel so mature, and everyone knows that mature people have big boy and big girl responsibilities like cleaning the house. But make sure to give kids natural, non-toxic cleaners.
Play That Funky Music
They might moan and complain when they start doing their housework, but there’s a way to pump them up. All you have to do is blast on some really cool music, so they can clean to the beat of the rhythm of some pumped up music. Your kids will be tidying up their room and sweeping the floor while they swing their arms and swivel their hips back and forth. Who said cleaning had to be boring, right?
Encourage Them
We all know how it goes. Your kids hate it when you nag at them to do their chores or correct them when they do something wrong. Unfortunately, correcting kids is unavoidable, especially if they’re really young. But to keep peace at home, try adding some encouragement to the mix. As they finish loading the dishes into the dishwasher or sweeping the floor, throw in a couple of praises like “You’re doing great!” or “You did a fantastic job at sweeping the floors!” It’ll motivate them to do their best.
Create A Chore Jar
Instead of a chore chart, you can create a chore jar. Just cut out a couple of pieces of paper. If you have more than one child, make sure the papers are a different color. Then write a chore on each piece, fold it and place it in the jar. You could also substitute the pieces of paper with popsicle sticks. When the time comes to assign chores, they’ll grab their assigned colored paper and get to work without any hassle. Plus, it kind of looks like they’re playing a game, doesn’t it?
Make Cleaning Fun Again
Cleaning is a lot more fun when it gets turned into a game. Make a square on your kitchen floor using washi tape and challenge your kids to sweep crumbs and dirt into it. Use a timer to add more of a thrill to the game. You can even create a chart to document their achievements using gold stars. Once they have a certain number, you can reward them by buying them a toy or treating them to some ice cream.
Don’t Team Them Up
Teaming kids together might sound like a good idea in theory, but in practice, it just means that more things can go wrong. When you put two kids to clean up their room, one of them is going to slack off. So put your foot down and assign one child to organize the bookshelf while the other child sweeps the room. That way there’ll be less confusion because everyone knows what’s expected of them and it’s so much easier than doing it yourself.
