6 Tips to Effectively Teach your Kids to Clean their Room
Does cleaning your child’s room feel like an uphill battle? Check out this guide on how to teach your kids to clean their room!
When it comes to cleaning a child’s room, it can feel impossible to have them contribute. It often leads to tantrums, whining, and lots of nagging from parents. If you’re feeling stuck when it comes to cleaning your child’s room, check out these helpful tips to get back on track!
Replace ‘Telling’ with ‘Showing’
Ever feel like you’ve told your kids to clean their rooms a million times? Sometimes it feels like you’re talking to a wall. This is the perfect opportunity to take a step back and show them instead of telling them. Teaching is an important part of cleaning, especially in the beginning. Have them by your side as you show them how to complete the task, then have them do it on their own with your supervision until you feel comfortable having them do it completely alone. Even if you feel they can do it on their own, showing them will make sure there are clear expectations and you’ll both be happy with the end result.
(picture of parent and child cleaning side by side)
Give them Cleaning Supplies
Children often feel more responsible and motivated when they have their own supplies to work with. Pick out a fun cleaning caddy or bucket to keep them in. You can even have them decorate it if they choose with a few stickers or write their name. This helps children feel more in control. Make sure to choose kid-safe cleaning supplies. Include the following simple items to get started:
- A duster, simple cleaning solution (water for the youngest kids), scrubber, soap, washcloth.
Play Music
Even for adults, it can be hard to feel motivated to clean. Music can be a powerful tool to motivate everyone in the family to clean. Make a playlist and play it throughout the house during cleaning time, or let each child listen with headphones while they clean their room. Cleaning is always more fun with music!
Organize with Mixed Storage
Using multiple types of storage in your childs room can be a game changer. Using shelves, drawers, cabinets, toy chests, baskets etc. ensures that everything has a home. Different types of storage makes it easier for your child to remember where each item goes. It may even motivate them to clean more daily if it’s easier to remember. For example: books go on the shelf, stuffed animals in the basket, toys in the bins etc.
Create a Time-Lapse Video
On particularly difficult cleaning days, you can use your phone to make a time-lapse video. Simply place the phone in a spot where the whole room can be seen in the video and press play. Stop the video once the cleaning is finished and watch the video. It’s a fun way to see the progress of cleaning and get your child motivated. An even simpler way to accomplish this is before and after pictures.
Step By Step Checklist
Print it out, laminate it, and keep a copy in a designated place. Including pictures with each step will help even your youngest child follow cleaning directions. It may even be a good idea to make multiple sheets, one for each child so you can customize it to their age. See the example list of steps below to give you some ideas:
- Put dirty clothes in hamper
- Make your bed
- Clean floors: put toys in bins, stack books etc.
- Wipe surfaces in your room with a damp cloth
- Dust pictures, blinds, desk etc.
- Vacuum carpet
- Empty and take out garbage
Hope these 6 tips will help you successfully get back on track with cleaning your kids room! For any extra cleaning needs, please give us a call.
