Even with your Kids at Home
Ah, the long lazy days of summer. We’re free of schedules and homework. The days stretch lazily in front of us, promising rewarding time spent with our children, swimming, hiking, reading, traveling, and getting to know each other. This is the idyllic vision we all have of summer, but the reality is often less promising. For many parents, especially those who must continue working even though the children are home from school, summertime brings additional stress brought on by hours of unstructured time—a time when the kids are eating, playing, and perhaps even fighting with each other at home, unattended. How do you keep your house in some decent shape, and at least moderately neat and clean, when the kids are there, all alone? It can be done!
State your expectations to your children.
This is the first step to maintaining the clean house you’ve worked on all winter. Make sure they know that they are allowed to have fun, perhaps even entertain friends, but that the house will be kept up. This means that if they prepare a meal or snack for themselves, they clean up afterward by putting away food and washing dishes. If they spend hours in the sandbox with a garden hose, wonderful! But they wash with that hose and use a towel to completely dry and de-sand themselves before entering the house. Whatever activity they can dream up must be followed by clean-up time.
Keep a schedule.
Your kids may balk at this one. They imagine staying up ’til all hours and then sleeping late into the morning. Tell them that the schedule can be a bit more relaxed than during the school year. A good compromise is that they all rise at an agreed-upon time, perhaps 8:00 am, and breakfast together, but they can bathe and get dressed at their leisure. Giving them some control of their schedule will help them to be more cooperative. On the other hand, allowing them to sleep, eat, and recreate at any time of the day paves the way for messes that you will end up cleaning.
Divvy up the chores.
Use that common breakfast time to assign chores. For instance, the ten-year-old makes sure all dishes are put in the dishwasher and the counters are wiped clean, while the 13-year-old collects clothes that have been left lying around the house and starts a load of laundry. They can play rock, paper, scissors or flip a coin to determine who sweeps and who feeds the pets. Or you can make a chart that alternate chores week by week.
Make sure they have what they need to do their chores.
A house that is well stocked with cleaning supplies stands a better chance of being cleaned up. Show the children where the broom, vacuum, soap, and dishcloths are kept. Teach them how to operate the washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher. Remember, they are children, and at this point, you’re striving for cooperation, not perfection. If you find they’ve done a chore, but not as well as you would have done it, be sure to express appreciation first, then gently show them the correct way. Kids like to learn and want to please you. Use this as a teaching moment, and everyone will benefit.
Really, that’s all there is to it. Let your kids know what you expect, help them to achieve their goals, and praise them when they do. Your house may not be spic and span as a professional house cleaning Sydney company would make it, but you will benefit from the experience of teaching your children and respecting their attempts.
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