Living with kids can be a nightmare, and a live one at that. Getting them to help around with household chores can be so tiresome that it’s sometimes more wise to just do everything yourself.
Does this sound like you? Thankfully, you’re not alone. You’re one of millions of parents who have to deal with reluctant children who need to be forced to lend a helping hand (or two) around the house.
We at Pristine Home have compiled a list of some of the best secrets to convincing our little ones that cleaning CAN be exciting (it’s all a matter of making things fun for them).
3 Helpful Cleaning Tips for Parents
Start young
Kids as young as a year old can help around the house. No really!
Toddlers are very curious about their surroundings. This is the age they have begun learning how to walk and talk so this gives them the opportunity to explore and experiment with things around your home. We know a toddler can’t sweep the floor or wipe the windows, but they can help with placing clean laundry into the basket or by helping you keep away their toys. Always start with the simplest task possible.
What you’re nurturing here is the expectation that they should learn to clean up after themselves, whether in your home or anywhere else. Children are much smarter than we give them credit for, and when we establish that cleaning is an integral part of the family, they know that they should do it for now on.
Chores Should Be Specific
Let’s compare these two statements:
“Go and clean your room.”
“Please put away all your crayons and return them to the box.”
Now which of the two do you think will a child understand and (more importantly) would want to do?
By giving clear instructions, your child will be able to handle the task readily and easily. Telling them to clean their room versus telling them to fix their bed are two different things in their minds. You want the task to sound simple so that they won’t feel overwhelmed.
Show Appreciation
Praise them for their hard work, and a job well done. They did it!
Avoid chastising them and telling them off about how YOU want things to be done. This is never helpful to their self-esteem and may even begin to resent cleaning. Instead of going off, do the task together next time and give helpful tips about how it should be done. Let them know that there is an easier way to do it, and that you’re going to show them. Saying thank you and showing how much you appreciate their efforts will be beneficial for them in the long run.
6 Fun Cleaning Tips for Kids
Make it a contest
A friendly competition between siblings will help make cleaning more exciting. You can even make it a weekly family event and whoever wins by Sunday morning will be treated to ice cream (or something like that). You can set up a scoreboard to help keep things going.
Songs and cleaning
Set up a playlist of your child’s favourite upbeat songs and dance to the beat while you both clean. You may even do speed cleaning — tell them that they need to be done with the task before the song ends.
Set a Timer
Like the song suggestion above, you can also set a timer to add some excitement to their cleaning chores.
Be aware of what cleaning tasks they enjoy doing
If you have a child who enjoys folding the laundry more than washing the dishes, teach them to do it the proper way and encourage them to do it more often. They will most likely agree to doing the chore whenever you ask them to.
Colour code
For kids as young two or three, make cleaning and learning a two-in-one activity: sort their toys according to their colour! When playtime is over, fixing up becomes a learning experience for your tiny tot.
Checklists work for older children
Checklists are helpful to teens. You’re allowing them to be independent and giving them responsibility to do what is asked of them. They don’t like being pestered all the time, so letting them know of their household chores through a checklist can help maintain a harmonious relationship between parent and adolescent.
Contact Pristine Home
Sometimes getting everyone to pitch in with the household chores isn’t enough.
Contact us for a thorough home cleaning done by professionals who have been highly trained and experienced. We recommend setting a weekly appointment on a day that is convenient for you and your family. A clean home is always a happy home, especially when Pristine Home is your partner in clean!
