8 clever ways to get kids involved in cleaning the house

Children benefit from doing chores from a young age. Here are 8 ways you can try to give them chores to beat the "no's".

8 clever ways to get kids involved in cleaning the house

For parents, we find it important to impose certain cleanliness standards and order in the house. Kids, however, want their rooms to be their own fun little playground. Therein lies the problem.

Parents will yell, kids will cry then tidy up for a bit , but after a week’s time, the cycle continues. It’s not easy to get kids involved in cleaning the house especially if they only do so to get their parents off their backs. Here is 8 clever ways to get them doing so on a more consistent basis.

1. Assign age-appropriate and specific tasks to them

Young children generally work better when specific tasks are given to them, for example, "Please put all the Lego blocks in the box" instead of "Please tidy up your room".

Also bear in mind to assign them age appropriate tasks that can change as they get older. A young child might be able to do things like stack books neatly on a shelf, whereas you might get an older child to sort out the laundry or change the pet’s litter box.

2. Give them a sense of ownership

Younger children especially love feeling like they’re being helpful. Make sure to explain to them why a task is important, and why you have confidence in their ability to do it. If you have several children, assign each of them regular, repeated chores that everyone else in the house is counting on them to do. Don’t forget to praise and reward them when they do a chore exceptionally well!

3. Turn it into a time-based mission

Grab a kitchen timer and turn this into a fun mission! Give your kids a reasonable time limit to complete their chores and a small but motivating incentive for finishing on time. Fun tip: Turn on some Mission Impossible theme music to get the adrenaline pumping as your kids race against time!

4. Lower your expectations

If you’re used to having a maid or professional cleaner doing your laundry or making your beds, don’t expect your kids to get your bedsheets and clothes wrinkle-free every single time. Understand that because they lack practice, they will often make mistakes or do a less-than-perfect job doing chores - but with time and encouragement, they can get better at it.

5. Get moving to the music!

Most children enjoy music - turn up their favorite music and encourage them to mop, sweep, fold, stack, and pack in time with the beat - this will make chores seem slightly less dreary and make the time fly past faster.

6. Teach kids about limits

Especially during festive seasons, the temptation for kids to want more and more stuff is always there, leading to overflowing drawers, toys all over the floor and under the bed, and just stuff lying all around the house. Have a rational discussion with them and get them to agree on what would be a reasonable limit on the number of toys - for example, three boxes full of toys.

When that limit is reached, they either have to give away other toys to make space for new ones, or they have to forgo new toys. This also teaches your child from a young age not to be a mindless consumer, but to think about whether they really need or have space for new stuff.

7. Visit the land of make believe

Nothing is more fun than playing dress up with young children! If you have girls, play "Cinderella" and get them to dress up in flowy skirts, a bandanna, and give them rags to clean the house with.

For boys and girls, dress them up as smart butlers and maids and have them pretend they are professionals cleaning up after the messy children who live in this house. "Can you believe these kids leave their clothes on the floor? We need to sort it out and hang them all up!"

8. Use visual aids or examples of what you would like to see

Not all children are auditory learners. Some learn best by visualizing or by doing. Have pictures of what a clean, beautiful room would look like to inspire and motivate them to want to clean better.

Ask them to use their imagination and creativity to think of how else they can organize, save space, and have a more tidy house. By involving them in the problem-solving, you are not just telling them to do something - but making them feel like their ideas and solutions carry weight.

But if all else fails...

There are several instances when all parents wish they could spend more time with their kids while being productive and getting chores done. The reality remains that the two do not always go hand-in-hand, so unless parents forgo precious sleep time - it's often difficult to spend quality time with the kids and keep your home in top shape.

That's where ServisHero comes in - we are a handy and efficient app that lets you get customised quotes from cleaners, caterers, handymen and others. Tailor your job request, pick a schedule that works for you and get your kids to use the app - that’s how simple it is. Just focus on what you do best, and create exciting new memories with your family and let ServisHero take care of the rest.