The truth about keeping the house clean is that it takes a lot of work and it is important to enlist help!
No mom is meant to keep her house clean all by herself. That mentality is a recipe for living in survival mode. Thriving moms accept and embrace help. In different seasons this may look differently. There may be seasons where you have a cleaning lady and there will come a season when your kids can help more.
We are currently working on involving all of the family in the regular cleaning. This is a struggle for me. When I pass by a bucket of dumped out toys, my natural inclination is to stoop down and quickly clean them up. In my head, I think, “well it will only take a minute and they can do it next time.” However, I have quickly seen that this only teaches them that mom will clean up after them.
How do I get my kids to help keep the house clean?
Cheer them on.
Many times, I will proclaim that I know they are going to do an amazing job or I can’t wait to see how clean your room is. Instead of nagging them over and over again, try speaking truth over them. You may be surprised at the impact.
Teach them where things go.
We have a lot of landing zones for our stuff. It helps make keeping things tidy go smoothly. If your kids do not know where the landing zones are teach them.
Repetition.
Parenting in general is a lot of repetition and this is no different. Daily, I have to remind my kids to help with clearing the table, putting their dirty clothes in the right spot, and making their beds. However, I have started to notice them catching on! When you see them helping without you asking, make a big deal about it!
Put together a cleaning caddy.
We use products that I am not worried about them being around (thank you Grove Collaborative!). So if I ask my son to wash the windows or the counters, I am not worried about excessive chemical.
Teach money management.
If you decide to pay for chores, use it as an opportunity to teach money management. We have started using a give, save, spend method with our kids and it has been exciting to see them growing in understanding.
What about you? What tips would you add to this list?
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This is great, my oldest is three and we are trying to engage him more in chores.
Love these tips! When I was a live in nanny, these would have come in handy. We were always trying to find ways to get her involved in cleaning!
Definitely, it can be a tricky thing to figure out!
I have 5 kids that are all adults now and they (and their spouses) LOVE that they know how to clean and how to keep up this routine. It made my life easier when they were younger AND taught them how to adult well!! 🙂
Love that Meg! So encouraging to hear your thoughts on this!
This is really great! I grew up doing chores from as young of an age as I can remember! I think its so important for kids to learn to clean and help mom!
It does make such a difference if you grow up doing the chores.
Getting them ramped up to help makes such a difference, lol – with my niece (she’s four), I just constantly get excited and thank her for helping and let her know how much it means to me that she’s helping me – she loves it! It’s adorable 🙂
Aww I bet she just loves all of the praise! It is amazing what some positive words can do!
I need to get my son involved more!! I often just do it myself because I’m not patient enough, but I know that’s going to set me up for trouble in a few years.
My kids also have chores, besides tidying their rooms: unloading the dishwasher, vacuuming, setting the table etc. Yes, it takes a lot of repetition! And I have to stand firm and expect them to do it – not do it myself quickly, because then the routine gets lost. Since they are getting used to it now, it really makes a difference for me during our mornings and evenings. I don’t have to do it all alone! And they learn important skills – a win-win situation 🙂 Thanks for this post!
I love this! We really taught my son to pick up but I’m the same, I’d rather just do it because it’s faster. We’re trying to encourage him to help even if takes longer or isn’t actually helpful- and he gets so excited when hes helped us! Hoping to keep him involved as he gets older!
I agree repetition is key. I just have to remind myself that. Great post.
Lovely guide. We’re trying to get my 4 year old stepson more involved, although sometimes it seems easier to tidy up when he’s asleep or back at his mums!
Sounds so smart! I agree, I still do my little quick clean when they are resting