Sweet Six-Clean

Welcome to summertime! The “I’m Bored” capital of the world!

If your house needs a hand and there are kids around, why not put them to work? They may not always enjoy helping tidy the home, but here are some ways to make it more fun for them and, by extension, less painful for you!

Setting the Process!

The age of the child can be a slight trick to this, but all the same, having them enjoy the process is what helps. It can be frustrating to forget the tasks at hand, so a chalkboard checklist can make all the difference in the world! It may only be scratching item X or item Y off at a given time, but if there’s a set reward at the end… well, we’ll get there in a moment!

Keeping it Realistic

Remember that time you perfectly finger-painted Monet’s Water Lilies when you were six?

Probably because that’s not a thing kids do.

Toddlers and young children aren’t known for their dexterity or situational awareness; that’s why watching them chase the ball around in soccer is often so darned cute!

Lower dexterity is why it might be a little difficult for the younger kids to make the bed, or neatly fold their laundry. Rather than applying the tykes to frustrating tasks, get them to work from their strengths: dogged determination and an abundance of energy (that you wish would shut down by 8pm most nights)!

Getting their dirty clothes into the laundry hamper, putting their shoes away nicely, putting toys and art supplies back where they belong, keeping the floors of common areas straightened up, having them use the vacuum, or pick weeds – there are plenty of tasks that kids are happy to do. Opportunities to contribute to the order and goodness of the household, and appropriate praise, are a staple. Speaking of which….

The OTHER “R-Word”

We’ve talked Realistic. It’s time to discuss “rewards.” Whether you believe in allowances or not, children like knowing there’s a carrot at the end of the race. Allowances work fine, but another consideration is an arbitrary “points” system. I mean, you were going to take them to see that new animated movie anyhow, right?

That puts the tasks they do into their capable hands – if they want to go to the movie and they feel responsible for the actions they take to get to the movie, then obedience is second-nature behind what they chose to do.

And as always, when in doubt, we’ll help you out – give us a shout! That last one was too many rhymes.

Hope your summer’s off to a great start!