There are some great discussions going on in the BlogFrog forums right now. One that really caught my attention was how to get kids to participate in cleaning and helping out around the house. And since I have deemed this Tackle It November I thought this was a good way to follow up Tuesday's post.
Growing up we were not paid a weekly allowance. We were expected to help out around the house by keeping our rooms clean, picking up after ourselves and helping with general chores. (dishes, bathrooms etc.)
I am guilty of bribing my kids to do things sometimes but I want them to learn some responsibility around the house without being compensated. A few ideas that I have, and mind you my system is not perfect this is just what is working for us right now.
1. Hampers for each child.
When I first bought them I was thinking it was a waste of money but now I am so glad I have them. I do not pick up any little kid clothes they are always in the hamper. Sometimes even clean clothes end up there. (thanks 2 year old!)
2. Bins for all toys.
Unfortunately most of the rooms in my home have at least a few toys in them, but there are bins in all rooms and shelves to place them on. My son has bins for trains, tracks, and transformers. If his room is messy I ask him to put toys away and within minutes his room is clutter free. In our main living room I have a large entertainment center and one cupboard just for toys and bins. Each child has a bin for their toys and when they are done playing they can put the toys in the bins easily and place on the shelf and close the door and magically clean room.
(I got the bins at Walmart. They are relatively cheap but durable enough to hold anything from books to trains to barbies)
3. Change up chores.
No one likes to do the same thing over and over and over. I know I don't. I have found that my kids are able to do many different chores. They can vacuum, unload the dishwasher, make their own beds, and my personal favorite clean door knobs and light switches with a Clorox Wipe. So sometimes instead of yelling about picking up their toys I will assign them the task I was going to do and I pick up the toys. It saves time and energy and then no one yells and everyone is happy. Especially ME!
I would love to hear your suggestions and successes. Join my discussion here. http://theblogfrog.com/psearch/ViewThread.aspx?threadID=5526&blogID=22588
Growing up we were not paid a weekly allowance. We were expected to help out around the house by keeping our rooms clean, picking up after ourselves and helping with general chores. (dishes, bathrooms etc.)
I am guilty of bribing my kids to do things sometimes but I want them to learn some responsibility around the house without being compensated. A few ideas that I have, and mind you my system is not perfect this is just what is working for us right now.
1. Hampers for each child.
When I first bought them I was thinking it was a waste of money but now I am so glad I have them. I do not pick up any little kid clothes they are always in the hamper. Sometimes even clean clothes end up there. (thanks 2 year old!)
2. Bins for all toys.
Unfortunately most of the rooms in my home have at least a few toys in them, but there are bins in all rooms and shelves to place them on. My son has bins for trains, tracks, and transformers. If his room is messy I ask him to put toys away and within minutes his room is clutter free. In our main living room I have a large entertainment center and one cupboard just for toys and bins. Each child has a bin for their toys and when they are done playing they can put the toys in the bins easily and place on the shelf and close the door and magically clean room.
3. Change up chores.
No one likes to do the same thing over and over and over. I know I don't. I have found that my kids are able to do many different chores. They can vacuum, unload the dishwasher, make their own beds, and my personal favorite clean door knobs and light switches with a Clorox Wipe. So sometimes instead of yelling about picking up their toys I will assign them the task I was going to do and I pick up the toys. It saves time and energy and then no one yells and everyone is happy. Especially ME!
I would love to hear your suggestions and successes. Join my discussion here. http://theblogfrog.com/psearch/ViewThread.aspx?threadID=5526&blogID=22588
Comments
My question - we have bins also, and every couple weeks I have to re-sort them, do yours always stay sorted? I feel like it's something I'm never going to win.