You want your child to be responsible when it comes to
keeping a room or home clean but face it—housework can be boring. Ladonna
Dennis, a mom blogger, offers these games and tools to engage kids almost
effortlessly in learning the art of keeping house.
Cleaning kit for a toddler: Little ones like to
imitate their parents, and what a privilege it is for them to have their own
tools! Stock a cardboard box or plastic bin with a mini sponge, a kid-sized
broom and dustpan, sample bottles of non-toxic cleaning products (possibly
filled with water).
Spray bottle: There's something about spraying that's
fun for just about anyone, and it can't slosh excess water in undesirable
places. Give your child the bottle and a sponge and ask them to clean a section
of the floor or other easy-to-reach spot or help you out with your cleaning
task.
Treasure hunt: Hide toys and goodies around the house
and tell your child they can be found by putting away items that are out of
place.
Photos before and after: Let you child take a photo
of a messy room and then another photo when it's all cleaned up. The comparison
will be instructive, and they'll have fun focusing the shots.
Dice game: Make a list of cleaning tasks numbered one
through six. Have your child roll a die to decide in what order to tackle the
tasks.
Make a commercial: Shoot a video of your kids
cleaning house with a voiceover singing the praises of a cleaning product.
Scratch-off cards: Make your own scratch-off cards with the names of chores under the paint. Kids scratch off the paint to see
what chore they'll do next.
Laundry colors: Shout out a color and ask your child
to bring you all their dirty laundry in that color. If you have more than one
child, make it a race.
Floor target: Make a circle on the floor with tape
and ask your child to sweep all the dirt and crumbs into the circle.
Cleaning in character: Have your child pick a
character from a book, fairy tale, or movie. They are to clean while
impersonating that character.
Freeze dance: Put on music, and have your child simultaneously
dance and clean up. When you stop the music, they freeze in position. When the
music starts again, they go back to dancing and cleaning—as many times as it
takes to get the room clean.
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