More likely than not, you’re not a fan of home cleaning– it can take a long time, it’s hard work, and can be undone in a matter of hours. But, we still do it, whether we like it or not. Having a clean home is important for your health and the health of your family.
Speaking of your family – do they help with cleaning? After all, it is their home, too. Our friends at Castle Keepers of Charleston share some tips on how to include your children in home cleaning – teaching them some discipline and helping you in the process.
Get Them While They’re Young
The easiest way to instill something in your children is to start doing it while they are young and be consistent with your messaging. The same applies to cleaning. If you want your kids to help you clean your home, try incorporating cleaning in their everyday lives.
Things like clearing their own dishes after a meal is a great start – and you can even present it as a little game.
Just make sure that you’re giving them age-appropriate tasks – that means no chores involving cleaning products or heavy and sharp objects, at least while they are young. If they grow up with an expectation that they need to help out around the house, your kids will be much more amenable to being assigned more chores in the future.
Clean Your Room!
This sentence doesn’t have to be an order or a punishment for a misbehaving child. Instead, it can be a show of confidence in them and their independence. It’s all about how you frame this task.
Once again, depending on how old your child is, you can start by having them clear away their toys and work their way up to folding and putting away their clothes, vacuuming and dusting as they get older.
Just because you frame the chore of cleaning their room in a more positive light, that doesn’t mean that you can’t also give them external motivation such as extra allowance or cook their favorite dinner – it can help, too.
Have Your Kids Pick a Chore
You will probably find a lot of tips on having a chore rotation chart for everyone in your home – every day somebody different is in charge of a chore. And while that might be an effective method for some, others might find it more hassle than it’s worth.
That’s why we propose a different approach – have your children pick a chore they are good at or that they don’t mind doing, and have them keep it for a while, or permanently if that works for you. Whether it is vacuuming, doing the dishes or taking the garbage out, some kids respond better to certain tasks, and they might find comfort in the routine.
You can keep the system in place for as long as it functions, and then replace it with something different if it is no longer effective.
Keep Your Kids Engaged With a Mix of Internal and External Motivation
Some children will find it easy to adapt to these methods which largely revolve around the internal motivation – the child is supposed to find the motivation to do the chores from the satisfaction of a job well done.
However, if your children respond better to an external motivation, be it money, food, or privileges, you can incorporate them in your schedule, too.
Having your children help with the cleaning may seem like a selfish gesture, but it is more than that. If you instill these values in your children while they are young, you will prepare them for adulthood and independent life.