If you ask the majority of people, they will tell you that they do not like to clean. Itís no wonder that kids arenít happy to do it either. But, itís never too late to teach your kids how to tidy up and have a bit of fun while they do it. Kids of all ages love to compete with each other. You can use that tidbit to your advantage when it is time to clean up. Before you do anything, get yourself organized. If the kids are supposed to be cleaning their bedroom, be sure to have containers for certain items sitting in the middle of the floor. The kids need to know where to put the items once they pick them up. It also allows you to walk behind them and watch what they do.
- Place pictures on the outside of each storage container, closet door or drawer. Each picture will denote what is supposed to go in that area. For instance, one storage bin may have a picture of a race car to store all car-type toys. Make it more interesting by timing them to see who can get the most toys in the appropriate container in five minutes.
- Use the alphabet. Starting with the letter A, ask the kids to pick up each item off the floor that begins with that letter. You can give kids a heads up by using their items as the examples you shout out for each letter you call.
- Ask the kids for decorating advice. If the task at hand is cleaning their room, ask them to tell you where they want certain toys and other items. When they choose a space, you can help them to re-position their toys.
- Turn the cleaning day into a scavenger hunt. This requires a little more work on your part in the beginning to make this a hit. List each toy, piece of clothing, book and such that your kids have out of place on a piece of paper. Give each person an item to find. They have 90 seconds to find the item and put it away.
- For older kids, let them rock out to some of their favorite tunes while they clean the room. The music gets them jumping and they’ll forget all about the fact that they are cleaning.
- Create a chore bag for game fun. Each day, your kids pick a chip out of the bag that has a chore name written on it. Each week they will get a chance to give their chore away to another, keep it or pick a new one. If they give their chore to someone else, that person may give them a worse chore the following week.
Cleaning is not the first choice for kids but you can make it fun nonetheless.
