Teach your child the values of cleaning and make them to do it willingly!

We always think that ‘they are still small kids” but we often forget that we are not raising kids; We are raising them to be adults. While it may be easier for us to clean the mess in a short term for them, it’s very important for kids to develop the sense of responsibility that comes from knowing that they can sort their own mess.

Here are few things you can explore to develop the sense of responsibility in your kids.

1. Banish the concept of cleaning up as punishment.
Clean up is not a onetime exercise and if you punish them more often in a grumpy manner, they will be grumpy right back. It is very important for us to use the right words and be very specific about our intentions.

2. Communicate why cleaning is important

When we tell something to our kids, they are curious to ask Why? If we communicate importance of strict hygiene in the initial years while they learn to clean the room, they will grow up more independent and responsible children. It is good to have special place for everything, try to label bins/shelf with pictures and teach them being more organized.

3. Whenever possible, make cleanup fun. Add energizing music to the mix.
Children loves to play games and have fun. Break the activities into smaller activities — pick red toys first, yellow second and further on. Use a timer to make it time bound and reward them if they complete on or before time.

4. Clean up time into play dates
When the kid’s friends are home, make sure to keep some time in the last for a cleanup game. Kids love to play together, and this is good exercise to inculcate good habits with a play date.

5. Enforce Grand Ma Rule
You have probably heard about old school discipline tactic “Grandma’s Rule” — Grandma says no desert until you finish your dinner. Apply “clean sweeps” before starting next activity. For e.g. we are going out for lunch at 2PM, let us find out our clean sweeps to be done before hand. This can also be applied to routine as ‘screen time’ you can use the mobile phone once we get Lego mess cleared.

6. Reward a Job Well Done
Keep a chart in the kitchen or other common place in the house. Put stickers in the chart after each activity is completed and reward them something bigger if certain no. of stickers is received. Praise them verbally and encourage them to take a pride for the job well done.

7. Equate allowance with quality of work

Provide allowance to the kids when they do their household chores. Allowance does not necessarily mean money, it can be a reward like pencil box, notebook etc. Make sure that you are rewarding your kid as per the quality of effort they put in for their household chore. This will reinforce in their mind that if they put in hard work they will be rewarded better and if they don’t put hard work they will be not be rewarded that much.