Cleaning is known to be a very meditative activity. It is said that as one clears the clutter around them, they also clear the clutter from their mind. But, in a home where children rule the floor, it becomes difficult to create that space and keep the home neat and tidy. However, Marie Kondo, the renowned author and organizing specialist believes that children can also learn the art of tidying. In one of her interviews, she mentions, “Children as young as 3 have the ability to appreciate the experience and lessons that come from keeping their space tidy. And the best part is that for some kids, those lessons will last for their entire lives.”
As appealing as this may sound to mothers, they are often concerned that their children do not clean the house nor do they participate by helping them in it. However, it is not an impossible task to get your children to clean. Below are a few tips that are efficient in making sure that kids clean the house.
- Find your child’s motivation
Cleaning can be a mundane activity, however with the right motivation it becomes easy to clean and tidy up any place. Motivate your children to clean the house before their friends or cousins come home. Once they complete the task, reinforce them with hugs, high-fives or a cookie.
- Make cleaning fun
Cleaning should be made fun, easy and accessible. Put a competitive edge and challenge your children to clean the corners of a room faster than you can. By doing so, children will feel empowered and eagerly participate in cleaning activities more often.
While deep cleaning the home, encourage your children to dip cotton balls in Nimyle and ask them to hide it in the deep corners of the house. By doing so, the house will smell fresh and fragrant due to the natural ingredients such as neem and camphor which are present in Nimyle.
- Make cleaning a game
Children enjoy participating in games and winning them. A fun way to get them to start cleaning is by creating a game. It can be as simple as a 1-minute challenge by which the child should wipe the study table within a minute. They will be rewarded extra points if they go beyond than just wiping the table and dust their toys too.
Toddlers love playing in the water and it is encouraged that they participate in wiping surfaces with a wet cloth. While engaging with them in this activity, it is advised that parents use a chemical-free product such as Nimyle. Nimyle does not contain harmful chemical like Benzalkonium chloride (BKC) which is present in common floor cleaners.
- Tidying Up
Teach your child to keep the toys that they pick up, back in its place. Inform your kids that if they don’t pick their toys, you will take it away from them. This will instill a sense of responsibility and they will learn to take care of their belongings.
- Tidy Time
Schedule a specific time each day as ‘Tidy Time’ and ensure the child cleans a small part of the house in that allotted time and ask them to move to a new area and clean that. The next they come back to the same place, the dirt is not overbearing to them and every part of the house is clean. Guaranteeing that there is a specific time to clean each day, the child will eventually be conditioned to clean the house on their own at the time slot.
Try these tips today and make cleaning a fun activity for both you and your child!
