I hate housework WITH. A. PASSION! But it has to get done and I need to teach my kids how to do it so that, maybe, they don't hate it quite as much as I do. And, with everyone home so much more, in addition to there being more chores to do, there is now more time than ever before to do them!
If you're eager to get your kids to help out more around the house, here are some tips on how to encourage them.
- Let them choose their chores: by giving your kids a sense of control, they are more likely to want to help. We have popsicle sticks that have different chores on them and they can each choose one or two that they’d like to accomplish in our set time-frame. I try to keep mine in separate rooms because they distract one another - but sometimes that doesn’t happen.
- Divide and conquer: MacDad and I try to each take a floor or different room and lead the kids through the activities there. One of us will do some of the more intricate work while we supervise the kids’ doing the easier work. Another way to do it is to ask your younger child to, for example, put toys away, while the older ones help with the vacuum or dusting the baseboards.
- Forget perfection: Perfection isn’t happening so stop obsessing. When I taught my oldest how to make his bed, I had to forgo the need for smooth lines. He was 3. Now, at nearly 6, he insists on straight lines on the cover and is particular about the order of the pillows. It will happen, just not right away. You have to let go of the need for perfection.
- Work through the house one at a time: pick one project for the weekend. You might want to start with something easy - like cleaning out old clothing and putting them in tubs so you can consign them - or maybe it’s tackling the playroom, but you want to focus on one project at a time.
- Teach tzedakah - or charity: we try to donate as much of our stuff as possible; so as the kids age out of toys or clothing, we ask them to help us decide to whom or where we will donate. If we can deliver these items together, we do.
- Make it a party: We will often make a playlist for our chores and each child gets to pick songs. Having a music-enabled smart device (like an Alexa or Google Home) helps - the kids can shout out songs and that’s an automatic timer for whatever small project they are working on.
- Reward and praise: Make sure that throughout this arduous and mostly boring work you praise them. Be a cheerleader! Remember, it’s a lot easier to want to do the work when you’re being told what a great job you’re doing. When your project is done, celebrate! It doesn’t have to be anything big - maybe it is just using the art supplies you JUST cleaned out or putting together a puzzle you finally found the last piece of hidden in the playroom.
We created a printable just for you to keep organized while assigning your chores.
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