Good hygiene and healthy habits are best when started at a young age, but we know it can be difficult to get your family into cleaning. No worries! That’s what we’re here for. We’ve gathered some tips on how to take the time to teach your kids to clean properly.
Wondering how to involve your kids in cleaning?
- Don’t use cleaning as a punishment
- If your kids are already reluctant to clean, try re-framing the way they view it. It’s not a chore or a punishment, instead it’s a ticket to other things being possible (playdates, allowances, etc).
- Play the “Color Game”
- Is the playroom a total mess? Get the kiddos in on the cleaning by naming a color and having them pick up and put away everything that is that color.
- Have a cleaning contest
- On deep cleaning days, give each child a Viva® Multi-Surface™ paper towel roll and assign them a room to clean. Whoever cleans their assigned room the quickest and most thoroughly gets a treat.
How can you get your kids to clean up after themselves?
- Enforce the “one out, one away” rule
- A mess gets bigger the more you add to it so we opt for this exercise. Instead of letting your child abandon one toy as they move on to the next, ask them to put the first one away to prevent a build-up.
- Offer positive reinforcement
- Reward your little helper with plenty of hugs and high-fives post clean-up. For the older kids, sticker charts tend to do great since they act as motivation for finishing a task.
- Be realistic
- There will be days where your child is too grumpy to clean. Instead of giving in and doing it all for them, try working together for two minutes to tackle some of the mess so they know they’re also responsible.
- Kids cleaning toy
- Get your little ones excited about cleaning by giving them their very own cleaning toy set designed just for kids.
In a perfect world your kids love cleaning just as much as you! But until then, make sure to reference these tips and tricks whenever you need some extra help around the house.