I may have a part 3 and 4 and 5 by the end of this year because my tactics seem to have to change because my kids HATE to clean (as do I when I'm trying to get THEM to clean!). Anyways, here is the latest of how I got my kids to clean on just about a whole half of a day (which is a LONG time for an 8 and 4 year old). I had to do it though because my house was driving me crazy it was so horrible, my husband was out of town, and I had no other option other than to slave-drive and bribe (I mean, give them incentives) to help me!!!!
1) Prepare them. First, I told them the day BEFORE to get ready, because Saturday, for most of the day, it was going to be a CLEANING DAY. And, after we cleaned, we were going to do something fun (it was going to the park to listen to music, but then it changed to riding bikes on the street - which they love!). And, this will be chores they were getting PAID for (which definitely interests my 8 year old).
2) Make a good & filling breakfast that morning. Otherwise, you'll have to stop a million times to provide snacks if your kids are like mine and eat every hour or 2 - good grief. This actually happened, so next time, I'm going to make a BIGGER breakfast - like pancakes that they can eat on all morning.
3) Make fun little GLASS containers with their names on it to hold their chore money. This is actually a big part of it, because kids like something special that is theirs, and they LOVE that cha-ching sound when the coin hits that little glass container. We used jelly jars.
4) Give your children 2 choices, and only 2. Ask them, "Do you want to gather the trash and put the trash out, or do you want to gather up the laundry to put downstairs?" This helps them feel like they at least have a choice in the matter. :)
5) Start with the hardest task and move to the more detailed. Or, vice versa, depending on how your children operate. My kids operate best when doing the hardest thing first. That first thing may take a LONG time to get done, but I find that after they've accomplish that really hard thing, they feel good about it, and get motivated to do something else and make a little bit more cashola! Or, it may be that they need to do easy tasks first to feel more confident - try both ways!
6) Give small amounts of change for each task done and give to them to put in their jar! (Example, 25cents for watering garden that takes a bit of time, 1 cents for putting away shoes, etc.) I give the amount based on how hard it is for them to do also.
7) Find out who your detailed kids are and put them on a detailed task. A detailed task such as, "organize the bathroom" sounds really fun to these types of kids!
8) Remember: "Something is better than nothing!" It is better that your child do something half-way as good as you would and help them to learn responsibility and the how-to's of cleaning than for you to just do it yourself 100%. And, maybe you don't have the time or energy to even do it - so remember the slogan!
Here are some of the jobs I give my 4 year old daughter:
Gather up her shoes and put them in her shoe drawer
Pick up all the toys in the front room and put them in your room
Pick up all dirty clothes and put in hamper
Gather all the dirty clothes and throw them down the stairs (see, definitely not perfect!)
Find all dirty dishes and bring to put on counter or in sink
Scrub dishes in soapy water (sometimes this can be so fun for a 4 year old!)
Put away clean clothes from box
Clean room (put away play/dance clothes in box, pick up books to put on shelf, put toys in bins, etc).
Here are some of the jobs I give my 8 year old son:
Clean room
Gather up all trash, consolidate and bring to big outdoor trashcan
Sort laundry into piles to wash downstairs
Put away clean clothes
Pick up all off floor in room & sweep room into a pile (I usually do the rest)
Take out the recycle to big outdoor recycle trashcan
Water the garden
Organize bathroom (he's my detail-lover!)
Organize books under coffee table
Help your sister put away her clean clothes (chuckle)
I hope this helps you to help your kids HELP YOU clean your home!!! If you clean on a Saturday, they will feel so good the next day when you can enjoy your day of rest in a clean & peaceful home! Please share any other tips you do with your family!
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