Cranky baby? Give 'em a bath! Need a few minutes of uninterrupted time or a way to distract a bored kid? Hand them a squirt bottle and a rag!
And the benefits go beyond just keeping them happily entertained for a few minutes.
You know all of those finger/nose/tongue/whatever-other-sticky-body-part-last-contacted-the-glass prints on the lower parts of your windows and doors????
What to them is a game, standing and squirting away, to you is housework when you hand them a rag and tell them to wipe off the water! Does it get the glass crystal clear? No, but it does help, and let's face it, Mama. Every little bit that you don't have to do yourself is help!
Admittedly, the older girls (7 & 9) are catching on to the this-isn't-a-game-you're-tricking-me-into-working aspect of this approach. I think that's why God blessed me with another kid:
To keep the Child-Labor Train chuggin' along!
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| Peanut, cleaning the slider, with Moses supervising. I swear I heard him say "Yup - you missed a spot!" |
What are your favorite tips and tricks to getting the kids involved in housework?
Haha! Just read your "who am I". Not cringing, Nancy. Your writing is wonderful. :) As for the topic, it's a good one. Little miss over here lives to "help"-- cleaning, cooking, whatever. She's in. The boys, on the other hand, need incentive. Like money. Or threats of check marks. Yikes. Kind of scary how they seem to be born that way.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michelle.
DeleteYes, I'm sure boys can be different. Having a gang of brothers myself, I can imagine. Let's just say I earned having all girls.....
As far as helping willingly and eagerly, that phase only lasted with the older two until they were around 5. So I'm just riding the wave right now while I can!