August 2007
The Cleaning Game
Sign on to clean up your household’s act … and in the November issue of Seattle’s Child, we’ll report on your family’s experiences and results, be they good, bad or messy!
Fact: Unless you’re Mary Poppins, your children do not (ever) burst into song when it’s time to tidy up.
And we’re guessing you don’t feel super cheery when you have to stack the dishwasher yourself (again) and pick up your kids’ socks or wheedle and beg for them to do their share. Maybe you’ve even given up on the idea that your kids could contribute, and who could blame you? Perhaps it’s best to just “let kids be kids” – right?
Problem is, by not including your kids in household duties, you may be seriously underestimating their capabilities and even holding them back. After all, way back in Colonial America kids weeded the garden, fed the chickens and washed the dishes – at age 3! Now, we’re not suggesting you impose Colonial standards in your home, but a kindergartener can contribute to his family in a meaningful way. Having an important job to do will help him develop a sense of self and of family unity, not to mention pride in his accomplishments.
How to get to there from here? Every family is different, so we’ve come up with four different approaches you can try (and modify) at home. We challenge you – no, we dare you – to pick one that sounds right for your family and to try it for a month. Let us know what works for you, or tell us about your own solutions.
Four Solutions: Which One Has Your Name on It?
1. Problem: Your kids don’t contribute (or
only when you ask them to “help out”).
Solution: Family Jobs
From now on, instead of letting chores be an ad hoc affair, put your child in charge of an age-appropriate task, like letting the cat in for a 4-year-old or taking out the trash for an 8-year-old. As kids grow, they can handle more responsibility, so give your preteens and teens bigger challenges, like cooking a meal or cleaning their bathroom. Write down the household jobs you and your spouse do, and have your older kids choose from among them. To raise morale, you can even offer a team reward, such as, “If everyone in the family does their share this month, we all get to go on a camping trip!”
2. Problem: You’re always behind on weekly
and monthly tasks.
Solution: The Family Task Force
Daily dishes and garbage? You and your family are on top of it. But when it comes to deeper-cleaning duties (like dusting, mopping, vacuuming, scrubbing tiles or cleaning appliances), who has time for it? You do. This Saturday, round up the whole family and pledge that you’ll all dedicate two hours every weekend to cleaning. Start every cleaning party with a brunch meeting where everyone goes around volunteering for the jobs that need to be done. Start the timer and you’ll be amazed at how much can be accomplished in those two little hours. Reward your family’s teamwork (and good attitudes!) with pizza or a movie for all.
3. Problem: A flat-out messy house
Solution: The Cleaning Game
Funny how when everybody’s cluttering a house, no one even notices her own out-of- place items. The backpacks, cereal bowls, sneakers, purses and skates become invisible, and no one feels motivated to tidy up. Instead of nagging your kids into picking up their junk, try this wacky game invented by Pam Young and Peggy Jones, the unorthodox cleaning gurus who put on Sidetracked Home Executive seminars around the country and wrote Get Your Act Together: 7-Day Get Organized Program for the Overworked, Overbooks and Overwhelmed (HarperCollins, 1993). Tell everybody that from now on, every time someone leaves an item out of its place, the item will be tagged and the person will have to pay a cash penalty – and yes, that includes Mom and Dad! All those penalty quarters (or dollars) go into a jar, and at the end of the week the person with the fewest infractions takes the pot. If your family has killer competitive instincts and not-so-killer domestic ones, you’ll have so much fun playing that the spotless house seems like a side effect.
4. Problem: Your kids can’t seem to concentrate
on “boring” chores.
Solution: An Element of Fun
Got a young child with a short attention span? The upside is, when they’re at this age and stage, just being around you is fun for them. So turn chores into quality time. For example, you and your preschooler can make sock puppets, and then use them to dust the furniture together. If you have two or more stir-crazy children at home, try games like speed-cleaning contests (how many dirty clothes can you drop in the hamper in the next 30 seconds?) and Musical Chores (when the music stops, the kids switch jobs). Got an older child who resists dull chores? Encourage him to add an element of fun and/or engagement to every job. Some chores are routine by nature, but you can have fun “on the side” while you do them. For example, why not go the library and load up on movies and books on tape for your son to enjoy while he does laundry? Other jobs become more interesting the more you learn about them. For example, if your teen daughter is in charge of trash disposal in your house, buy her a book on recycling or sign up for a composting class together so she can learn more and understand the vital importance of the work she’s doing.
We hope one of these techniques helps your family achieve more harmony, and we can’t wait to hear about your progress! To participate in our cleaning challenge, just write to:
Editor
Seattle’s Child
511 2nd Ave. W.
Seattle WA 98119
Or e-mail editor@seattleschild.com.
Please send us your responses by Sept. 30, 2007.
And if you can’t stop humming “Just a Spoonful of Sugar,” well, that’s our fault.
Phoebe Kitanidis lives in Seattle, is a contributing writer to Discovery Girls magazine and has taught English and creative writing to kids of all ages. She and her husband use the Family Task Force to help keep their house clean.
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Seattle's Child, a publication of the Washington Post Company
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