10 Ways to
Make Cleaning Fun!

How Cleaners Work

1. Dress Up to Clean Up. Let your child pick out the clothing he or she wants to wear to “Clean Up.” Go a step further and let them decorate or accessorize their clean-up time clothing.


2. Stars for a Great Performance. Patricia H Sprinkle in her book Children Who Do Too Little, tells us that sociologists have established a strong relationship between how people value work they do and how well they do it. Parents who want their children to do good work, therefore, need to let children know that the housework they do for the family is important. Then, make up a daily chore chart, rotate the chores if you have more than one child. Post colored stars on the chart for doing a good job. Convert the starts at the end of the month to cash or some other tangible award. For older kids, use points applicable to the next video game purchase.


3. Turn Up the Music. Singing while you work works for kids too!


4. Let’s Party. Who said everyday can’t be a party day? Throw a house or room cleaning party. Have the party consist of cleaning, games and snacks. Whether the party includes family members or your child’s best friends, the work will go much faster and easier.


5. Don’t Over Do It! Break cleaning chores up into 15- to 30-minute segments every other day.


6. Tools of the Trade. Who says a broom can’t be dressed up to look like a witches broom or a hobby horse.


7. Safety First. Let’s face it, kids enjoy anything that involves squirting water! Some parents dilute common (petroleum-based) household window or multi-purpose cleaners with water for use by kids, but this just isn’t safe. No matter how much the dilution, there are still potentially harmful chemicals in the spray bottle. If squirting water is part of the cleaning fun, then make sure its just water.


8. Before and After. With today’s digital cameras, it’s easy to take a picture of a child’s room before and after they clean it up. Use the pictures to talk with your child about things they could do to make cleaning more fun and/or easier (like storing toys in their proper place).


9. Beyond the Playroom. As kids get older (into their teens), their chores may expand to cleaning the basement, garage or other areas in and outside the home. Unless they are very disciplined or actually like cleaning, this is a time when cash allowances may be the only incentive. Consider flexible allowances based on the amount of cleaning (or work) done.


10. Reward Yourself. If you have successfully managed to engage your children in cleaning around the home, you deserve a reward!