Benjamin Franklin said “laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes him”. It’s quotes like these that need to be instilled in kids at the earliest age possible, or you’ll find yourself picking up after them till they’re ready to go off to college!
For kids, developing lazy habits is the easiest thing in the world because they get more than enough gratification from sitting in one place and playing on computers, cell phones, video games or watching television. It’s our responsibility to not let it reach a stage where that’s all they do, neglecting their daily chores in the bargain. So, here are five cleaning chores to start them off on that will keep them active and encourage regular household cleaning habits! This may take a little time, but be patient with your kids and they’ll come around.
1. Wash the Dishes after Every Meal
Let each household member take turns in washing the dishes immediately after a meal. This way, your kids won’t feel like it’s a monotonous task, or that he/she got the short end of the stick. Moreover, when you let your kids leave chores for later, they get engrossed in something else and definitely don’t enjoy breaking away from it to do housework. It’s also better to have them washing the dishes after every meal so that it doesn’t pile up and become a tiring task. So, make it a habit to wash the dishes first, before letting them indulge in their leisure time.
2. Clean Their Rooms Every Alternate Day
If you make them do it every day, they’re going to get cranky; and if you wait too long, the room is going to get too messed up for them to want to clean. Therefore, every alternate day becomes more appealing to kids who would rather laze around. However, it’s helpful to set some ground rules for their rooms; for example, no leaving dirty clothes lying around, no toys/items left on the floor, etc. This helps to teach discipline and keep the room from getting very untidy. Again, it won’t be easy to get them to clean their rooms without pushing them to do it, so let there be consequences if the chore isn’t done when in a timely manner.
3. Dust the Furniture Together
Wiping your furniture can be pretty dull; hence, the faster the job is done, the happier everyone will be. Let at least two people (or more) help each other in dusting the furniture in a single room. It’s easier when you clear an entire shelf of curios and other items first by placing them on a table, and then wipe each piece and the shelf before putting them back in place. It’s important to give them guidance and tell them if they’re doing things the longer, harder way. All in all, dusting together is what will make the difference in getting the kids off the couch to clean as compared to doing it alone.
4. Make a Schedule for Cleaning Floors
Assign different rooms on each day of the week (or just weekdays) to different household members and fix a certain time of day for the chore to be carried out. Cleaning floors is relatively quick and easy, and it keeps them active. Let them know from the very beginning that if the work hasn’t been done properly, it’ll need to be redone. This way, they won’t take their chances in doubling the amount of work for themselves. Don’t, however, let cleaning time disrupt their homework time, play time or coincide with their favourite cartoon/TV show (even we don’t like to compromise a minute of our TV time!). They’ll be more willing to do chores when they’re idle. For motivation, you can tell them that it’s a productive way to kill time till they can do something they enjoy (like going out to play).
5. Rinse the Bathroom after Showering
It’s as simple as this; if you’ve left dirt marks or soap scum all over the bathroom after showering, clean and rinse it out yourself. Kids don’t like to clean up their brother or sister’s mess, so teach them to clean up after themselves from a young age. It’s an easy cleaning chore for any kid to wash the floor and squeegee to water into the drain (so that the floor dries up quicker). Moreover, rinsing the bathroom floor and sink after using it will keep it clean for a longer time. Of course, if your kids are old enough, have them clean the toilet bowl at least twice a week.
These are just some of the easy cleaning chores for kids we’ve named; there are plenty of other household cleaning tips and guides for the whole family to do to maintain a beautiful, clean home! Simply Maid covers all home-related cleaning advice and cleaning services so feel free to check out our blog for more useful information, and book a cleaning with us for all your cleaning needs!
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