{"id":10152,"date":"2021-01-28T14:56:21","date_gmt":"2021-01-28T19:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/?p=10152"},"modified":"2025-02-25T12:06:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T17:06:07","slug":"30-tips-for-involving-children-in-housework","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/resources\/news-library\/30-tips-for-involving-children-in-housework\/","title":{"rendered":"30 TIPS FOR INVOLVING CHILDREN IN HOUSEWORK"},"content":{"rendered":"

Has the pandemic wrought havoc on your haven? Is your dining room barely discernible from a garage sale? After nearly a year of living, working, schooling, and playing at home, perhaps your space could use a good ol’ fashioned spring spruce up.<\/p>\n

Getting everyone in the family involved in spring cleaning or year-round household chores is a win-win. It\u2019s good for parents, because let\u2019s be honest, you could use some help. It\u2019s good for the kids because it teaches them responsibility and what it means to be part of a family.<\/p>\n

Here are some steps and ideas to get you started!<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Make a list of all the housework.<\/li>\n
  2. While we are using the word \u201cchore\u201d as a shortcut in this post, think about maybe not even using the word \u201cchore\u201d at home. Family contributions or housework might be better word choices, since chore has a negative connotation.<\/li>\n
  3. Divide tasks up into Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Seasonal.<\/li>\n
  4. Invite all members to a family meeting.<\/li>\n
  5. Present your list in the meeting so everyone sees all the chores.<\/li>\n
  6. Explain who does what right now and how you\u2019d like everyone in the family to help.<\/li>\n
  7. Ask kids which chores they would like to do, or think they can handle.<\/li>\n
  8. Getting input and buy-in from kids helps! They\u2019ll have some control and say.<\/li>\n
  9. Create a \u201csignup sheet\u201d so family members can put their name next to a chore they\u2019d like to do.<\/li>\n
  10. Encourage children to take chores related to pets, their own bedrooms, playrooms, etc.<\/li>\n
  11. Don\u2019t limit kids\u2019 chores to their own belongings or spaces. Living spaces, kitchen chores, setting the table\u2014these are good for children to help with, too.<\/li>\n
  12. Organize chores and\/or checklists in a fun way\u2014charts, desk or wall calendar, a dry-erase board on the fridge, stickers for little ones. Get creative!<\/li>\n
  13. If your family is more tech-savvy, try free apps like\u00a0OurHome<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  14. Use a rewards system. Positive reinforcement is a great way to keep everyone motivated.<\/li>\n
  15. Speaking of rewards, try \u201cexperience\u201d rewards in addition to money or candy\/treats. For example: Do something fun with the family at the end of a whole month of everyone sticking with their housework!<\/li>\n
  16. Organize the cleaning closet. Brooms, mops, vacuum, cleaning cloths, dusters and cleaners should be easy for everyone to get what they need.<\/li>\n
  17. Invest in convenience items like a light, cordless vacuum for stairs, Swiffer, magic erasers, cleaning wipes, etc, to make cleaning easier for kids.<\/li>\n
  18. Make time on the weekends for everyone to do some weekly housework together. Put on some music like\u00a0Amazon Prime’s cleaning playlists<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  19. Teach older children to do their own laundry! Even younger children can help by making sure their laundry basket makes it to the laundry room on a certain day, or days, of the week.<\/li>\n
  20. Be consistent! This goes for every aspect of parenting.<\/li>\n
  21. Talk about consequences if chores are not done. Make sure to set expectations and follow through with\u00a0consequences<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  22. Have regular conversations or meetings about chores, division of labor, what is going well and what needs improvement.<\/li>\n
  23. Keep it positive!<\/li>\n
  24. Talk about your\u00a0feelings<\/a>when you\u2019re frustrated. This is a great opportunity to model good communication. If you\u2019re feeling overwhelmed with housework, tell them how that makes you feel and why you are asking for help.<\/li>\n
  25. Use\u00a0YouTube<\/a>and\u00a0Google<\/a>\u00a0to look for cleaning tips, hacks for making housework easier, and other methods for more efficient cleaning.<\/li>\n
  26. Some experts recommend NOT tying chores to children\u2019s allowance. Helping with housework is every family members\u2019 responsibility, because that\u2019s what being part of a family is about. Tying allowance to chores can reinforce a negative lesson (what\u2019s in it for me?), but ultimately it\u2019s up to parents to figure out what works best.More about this topic here<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  27. Don\u2019t forget meal preparation and cooking as part of the list of tasks and responsibilities for kids.<\/li>\n
  28. Browse\u00a0Pinterest<\/a>for sticker charts and chore calendar downloadables.<\/li>\n
  29. Educate yourself on positive parenting strategies! Many parents find themselves nagging kids to get XYZ done on a daily basis. Get some help by attending\u00a0Parenting Education<\/a><\/li>\n
  30. Angie\u2019s List put together a great chart for\u00a0age appropriate chores for kids<\/a>!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Has the pandemic wrought havoc on your haven? Is your dining room barely discernible from a garage sale? After nearly a year of living, working, schooling, and playing at home, perhaps your space could use a good ol’ fashioned spring spruce up.
    \nGetting everyone in the family involved in spring cleaning or year-round household chores is a win-win. It\u2019s good for parents, because let\u2019s be honest, you could use some help. It\u2019s good for the kids because it teaches them responsibility and what it means to be part of a family.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-childhood-development"],"yoast_head":"\n30 TIPS FOR INVOLVING CHILDREN IN HOUSEWORK - Firefly Children and Family Alliance<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/resources\/news-library\/30-tips-for-involving-children-in-housework\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"30 TIPS FOR INVOLVING CHILDREN IN HOUSEWORK - Firefly Children and Family Alliance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Has the pandemic wrought havoc on your haven? Is your dining room barely discernible from a garage sale? After nearly a year of living, working, schooling, and playing at home, perhaps your space could use a good ol' fashioned spring spruce up. Getting everyone in the family involved in spring cleaning or year-round household chores is a win-win. It\u2019s good for parents, because let\u2019s be honest, you could use some help. 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