Shhhh! Heres the secret to cleaning with kids
 
Since my children were little, I've encouraged them to get involved with household chores. Even a messy 'made' bed sparks joy in my heart - it means they feel responsible and are beginning to take pride in their work. 
 
Recently, my son has started asking me for payment for doing chores, but I explained to him that participating in household chores was something we expect, and as he gets older I would hope he would continue to pitch in. 
 
But it isn't always easy when your little ones (and your partner) put the shoes BESIDE the shoe rack instead of ON TOP OF IT and leaving a trail of clothes all the way up the stairs to the bath threatens my sanity. 
 
1. Make sure the chores are age-appropriate
Be very specific when explaining job duties. You can't assume that your 4-year-old knows how to put away his toys in their proper places if he’s never had to do it before. Invest some time explaining to him about where things belong and why. That way, he’ll not only learn to do it right and by himself, but it is a great lesson in the importance of organisation in their own life.
 
 
2. Make it fun
Vacuuming was my favourite chore growing up and even now, my children jump at the chance to run our vacuum around the house. That is partly because it is instant gratification which they love, but I think it is also because we made sure to get a super duper Bosch one that is tornado red, cordless AND incredibly quiet. There is great satisfaction in gobbling up those dust bunnies and sucking up more crumbs that you can imagine.
Anything water-related also helps keep their interest. Often I give them a bowl and a scrubbing brush and get them to scrub down our garden furniture. They scrub like mad for about 10 minutes and then have a water fight and then use the table as a 'den' and then scrub again a little more. They are happy and proud of themselves when I come out to 'ooh' and 'ahh' at their handiwork, and I'm delighted that I got 20 minutes of relative peace AND the garden furniture is slightly more presentable than it was earlier that day. Win-win. 
 
 
3. Rewards
Although I do expect the children to help more and more as they get older, it is nice to reward their efforts. There are fun ways to go about doing this. You can pop a marble into a glass jar with your child's name on it every time they do a chore, and count them up at the end of the week, or you can organise a chore chart with stickers or incentives when they complete their responsibilities. This is a really good visual way for the children to understand their tasks. I try not to offer sweets or treats as a reward so we usually say 20 points is a trip of their choice (to the mini-golf or the petting zoo for example) They get a great kick out of enjoying the fruits of their labour and you can be comfortable knowing you are teaching your children some valuable life lessons. 
 

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