What Does a Typical Weekend Look Like For You?

What does a typical weekend look like for you and the kids when you are not out running errands or having some fun away from home? I'm guessing your more quieter weekends are probably filled with doing some chores around the house, one of which is cleaning.

Doing the cleaning together with your children will not only ensure that you are done within a shorter time, but it helps your kids learn some skills that will come in handy both in the present time and later on in their life when they are adults. Below I share how you can make it as fun and enjoyable as it can be for the kids, with the following tips and tricks.

1. Everyone Cleans Up After Themselves

If you tell any of your children to go and clean their sibling’s room, you can be sure you'll be met with a lot of resistance and moans. Create a task list for each child, starting with tasks that touch on their own items and spaces first, before moving on to general household chores.

For example, for any of your children who wear glasses, create a task for them to use a glasses cleaner for their glasses, and wiping down their glasses case with an antibacterial wipe. Create tasks for each child individually based on their age and needs. For younger children, you can tasks them with giving their toys a good wipe down before putting them away in their correct toy boxes, whilst teenagers can sort out their dirty laundry piles or gaming desks. Let your children tidy up their own rooms first before giving them tasks around the house such as emptying the dishwasher or sweeping the kitchen floor.

2. Be Specific

For younger children, you want to be sure you give simple instructions, and one at a time while you are at it. Your teenage son will know what to do when you ask that they clean their room, but your younger children under 5 years old may not have an easy time understanding where to start.

What you want to do is to be specific with the younger ones. If you need them to do their bed, be sure to say just that. If you need them to put away their toys, ask them to do so before issuing another instruction. Ask them to report back with each task they have done, before giving them the next task to do. If your younger children get distracted easily, a reward chart can work wonders and can easily be made at home, saving the expense of buying one. 

3. Have a Cleaning Contest

Assign each one of your children a different cleaning task dependant on their ages. Promise to give a treat to the person who will do the most thorough job within the shortest time. Make the treat something you are certain the kids will really like and you can be sure they will be motivated to do their best. If you have children with bigger age gaps, it may be best to give them all a little treat - such as a biscuit or a small packet of sweets, whilst the child who done the best job gets to pick the family movie or dinner that night!

4. Have a Boot Sale

Get the kids to go through their stuff and pick out what they have outgrown and what they don’t really use anymore so you can all have a boot sale. Get them to focus on one area at a time, from their old toys to old clothes. The children can earn a percentage of the sales, or even all of the money from their own sales, and any leftover unsold items at the end of the boot sale can be donated to charity shops. As a parent, you’ll no doubt be happy to see your home decluttered, and the children will be happy with their earnings from their sales.

5. Take on some of the Cleaning

You may be tempted to pour yourself a glass of wine, and have a little rest as you watch the children do the cleaning, but the best thing you can do is get involved yourself. After all, the whole idea of tag-teaming on the chores is to have everyone do something.

You can take on the cleaning tasks that require a little more thought, time and carefulness. If you have leather sofas or leather dining chairs for example, that you have been wanting to deep clean for ages, you can use a leather cleaner to achieve that deep clean look. The same goes for bleaching the tiles, sinks, bathtubs/showers and toilets in the house - these types of cleaning products come with specific instructions for use, which is another reason why you may want to think twice about leaving such tasks to the kids. 

6. Take Fun Breaks

 How about a bit of song and dance while you take a break from all the cleaning. The kids will definitely love it and it is these wonderful times and memories that will make them want to do the cleaning with you next time and the time after that. Let loose and show off your parent moves and make it fun for the kids by allowing them to take it in turns to pick a song each.

Remember, when having a cleaning day or weekend, be clear about what you need done, BUT remember to have some fun. That’s the way to go if you are having the kids help you with cleaning around the house, in time they will learn to naturally just pick up after themselves whilst realising how much nicer it is to have a neater room and general family home.

Until next time,

Jada x