Tired of Chore Charts? Try These Creative Ideas!
In our house we do chores — but in a FUN way!
Since we all live in the same home, we all work together to keep it clean.
Even the youngest kids pitch in!
Toddlers and preschoolers are super-cute, aren’t they?
I seriously love the toddler age!
It’s an age of learning, exploring and communicating!
But, it’s also an important time for toddlers to learn some basic life-skills that will follow them all the way into adulthood.
Young Kids Can Help With Chores Too!
Sometimes it’s way too easy to assume those cute little chubby hands couldn’t possibly help around the house.
But if those adorable, little hands can pull a toy out of the box, they can also put the toy back into the box.
Simple reasoning, eh?
It would be beyond silly to expect young kids to keep your home squeaky clean, but you can expect them to put away personal items and toys.
What about reward systems and chore charts?
Toddlers and preschoolers need something beyond chore charts.
Most of the time, it’s just too early for young kids to grasp chore chart concepts — and may only end in frustration for you and your child.
Instead, try a different approach with these tips!
Teach Young Kids to Clean Without Chore Charts
No Chore Chart Cleaning Tips for Kids #1: Make Cleaning Fun!
Many of you know the “Clean up! Clean up! Everybody everywhere!” song, right?
All of my six munchkins have enjoyed singing this song with mommy, daddy, and their siblings as we pick up their shoes, toys, and clothes.
We have added different verses and sometimes clap and add variations to the song.
Not a singing family?
Try playing some fun kid music to help associate happiness with cleaning.
No Chore Chart Cleaning Tips for Kids #2: Have a race!
Not a competitive race, but a race against the clock!
Set a timer for two minutes and excitedly explain to your munchkins you are going to try to have all the toys picked up in just a couple of minutes.
Tell them to work hard and see if everyone can be done before the timer buzzes!
No Chore Chart Cleaning Tips for Kids #3: Praise often
Encourage your kids by praising them when they do help — especially if you spy them picking up someone else’s belongings.
Yes, it is their own responsibility to clean up after themselves, but they are still learning.
A little bit of praise goes a long way with young kids!
No Chore Chart Cleaning Tips for Kids #4: Don’t overwhelm kids
Don’t put a young child in a dirty room, wave your hand and say “Clean it up!”
Their minds are just too young to comprehend how to clean up such a large mess.
Instead, include them in small chores throughout the day.
Think bite-sized tasks.
Young kids can bring small wastebaskets to you, throw away pieces of trash, take folded clothes to bedrooms, wipe down chairs after meals, and pull up covers on their bed in the morning.
Give them specific directions and jobs so there is no confusion or stress.
If you want your young child to cultivate a positive attitude towards cleaning, you have to keep cleaning instructions simple, doable and fun!
No Chore Chart Cleaning Tips for Kids #5: Guide Your Young Kids.
Take these special, tender years and spend your time guiding them through the process of cleaning and other life skills.
Show them how to properly close a drawer, how to hold a dust-pan when sweeping, how to tuck in the sheets.
You will be amazed at how much they can learn just by observing your work and listening to your instructions.
Young kids love to learn, don’t push them away!
No Chore Chart Cleaning Tips for Kids #6: Limit toys
Don’t overload your kids with too many toys.
Invest in a few toys and then limit the number of toys outside of the bedroom to three or four toys per child.
Keeping the majority of toys in one area will drastically cut down on the amount of chaos and mess that can happen from abandoned toys.
To make it even more fun, let your kids switch out toys every month. Try our toy switcharoos system that includes fun printables! :)
No Chore Chart Cleaning Tips for Kids #7: Have regular clean-up times.
Pick three times per day to regularly spend 10-20 minutes cleaning your child’s play area and room.
We call these times “swoops”.
We normally choose to do this before lunch, after nap, and before bed.
Having regular clean-up times helps keep messes at bay and keeps your child on a routine.
After a few weeks of the same cleaning routine, your young kids will instinctively start straightening up during your routine clean-up times.
It’s become second-nature and a part of their everyday happenings!
No Chore Chart Cleaning Tips for Kids #8: Create Clean-up Teams
When we have a big cleaning day, we break up into cleaning teams.
Since we have six kids, we do a blue, orange and green team.
It’s pretty fun and competitive!
We offer some fun prizes for the best jobs done!
Chore Chart Cleaning Tips for Kids #9: Try a Few, Fun Cleaning Hacks
Clean up hacks always add a fun twist to chores.
They break up the monotony and give everyone a fresh look at chores.
Here’ s a genius, toy clean-up hack my son invented! :)
Toss the Chore Chart and Try These Creative Cleaning Ideas!
Share your chore tips with us in our All Things Mommy group on Facebook!
See you there!