Getting Young Children Excited About Cleaning

Young children love to feel like they're doing something big, important, and helpful. By encouraging that, you'll give them a sense of importance when they help you clean. When you're ready to get them involved, this will help get them on the road to being big helpers:

• Explain that this is a “big boy” or “big girl” job.

• Give them their own job—something they can manage pretty easily but still feel helpful doing (putting away clean spoons and forks, sorting toys, folding napkins, rags or towels, “scrubbing” the bathtub, etc.)

• Give them their own tools, like this great kid cleaning caddy idea from Montessori: put a bottle of homemade natural or gentle cleaner (vinegar or dish soap and water), a rag or sponge, and some brushes in a small carrying case just for your child.

Cleaning should feel rewarding, so help them capture that feeling. There are lots of ways to reward children for their work, but here are a few good ideas:

• Heap on the praise. Even though they can't clean as well as you can, they put in an awful lot of heart!

• Tell them you appreciate your help and that it makes cleaning much nicer when they help.

• Make cleaning fun! Play games with them: race against each other to see who can pick up the fastest or see who can fill up their basket with toys first.

• Ask them if they like the house when it's clean, and tell them you do, too!