Working as a team to clean one room at the same time will motivate children more than when they are sent off to clean and tidy a room alone.
Here are some child-friendly ways your little ones can get involved in the cleaning:
1. Vacuuming with a handheld
It has been proven that children learn by imitating, so while you’re working your way around the room with your regular vacuum cleaner, pass a child-friendly, handheld vacuum to the little ones. You can get twice of the work done at no extra effort.
2. Washing up
If your child enjoys washing up, let them have a go, even if you have to rewash the odd plate once they’ve gone to bed. You can make it a more of a fun task by creating bubbles with the washing up liquid.
3. Sweeping up
Sweeping laminate or tile flooring is a simple task that needs doing on a regular basis, even more so for the households with pets. Make it a fun task by seeing who can sweep from one side of the room to the other the quickest, without missing any crumbs on the floor.
4. Cleaning surfaces
Children are happy to spray and wipe down surfaces, and it’s a quick way of giving the bathroom a once over. However, we would recommend starting off with just water until they are at an age where they can safely handle cleaning products.
5. Dusting
Using tall feather dusters is still a bit of a novelty for little ones. Letting them use cleaning tools is a bit like using a toy, just make sure to move anything that is easily broken out of reach first.
6. Laundry
Now, we don’t expect the children to put the washing liquid into the machine but they can help you load and once complete help you fold the clothes. Start by having them separate whites, colours and darks.
7. Picking up toys
By no means an easy feat, but make it a game by seeing how many toys your children can pick up in one minute. It helps to quickly move the clutter out of sight and you don’t have to lift a finger.