Watch as Aubrey Degn uses some creativity and a lot of fun while teaching her children to empty the dishwasher and put away their toys.
QUESTION: What tips do you have to make cleaning with the kids a fun activity?
Would you like our best articles delivered right to your inbox? Join our newsletter list and get the latest and greatest from The Power of Moms—plus our free Member Package.
About the Author: Aubrey Degn
I have two children, ages 2 and 4. They are the greatest teachers I have ever had. Being a mother is so much harder than I anticipated, especially since I am a hard-core perfectionist. My kids are helping me kick the habit. A native Texan, I am still trying to like the cold of Utah, where I live now. I read more than is probably productive, play the piano, do cardio kickboxing so I feel tough, ride horses when anyone will let me and eat too much popcorn. She blogs at Read Listen Love.
Roll over to see full bio.
1 comment
Patti Jo says:
Feb 13, 2012
My kids seem to naturally think that cleaning is fun. It is my attitude that I have to work on. I remind myself that it doesn’t have to be done my way and it doesn’t have to be perfect. Also I try to be ready with lots of different little jobs that they can do because they don’t like waiting if they finish their job before me and have to wait. Also I don’t redo their job after they do it – I try to re-instruct while they are doing it, teaching them, but just leave it as is once they are done because they are trying their best and I don’t want to send a message of disappointment or discouragement. And then I try to remember to teach and model again as they start the job the next time, to try and correct the problem from last time. I like to say “I’ve found that doing it this way makes it easier” and then let them have another go at it. Little improvements all the time.
danielletaylor.porter says:
Feb 14, 2012
Oh that is darling…I need to be better at making it fun.
We have done the ‘gunny sack’ from the Eyres joy school ideas. This isn’t super fun but my girls know that if they want to do something fun or special (play a big new thing, watch a show, make a new mess, do a project) then something has to be done first. They are pretty good at taking care of the earlier messes before starting a new one. We also like to turn on music, and we like to have fun rewards. Even if we were going to eat popcorn and play a family game, sometimes it is nice to use it as motivation to get the bedroom cleaned up anyways. 
Mary Jenkins says:
Feb 18, 2012
Oh my, the Robot idea is just the cutest thing ever! I bet my 3 year old would think that was so fun. Thank for all the great tips and ideas!
Brooke Miller says:
Apr 20, 2012
I love that robot idea! We are going to try that today!,
jeremyandkendrajohnston says:
May 10, 2012
That was fun! It’s nice to see a peek into another mother’s world.
Thanks for posting that. I like the robot idea too – and music and timers always help! When we are almost done cleaning up sometimes we bust out our “I spy” goggles (old pair of sunglasses that the lenses have popped out of) that our kids put on to give them “super powers” and be able to find all of the toys left (that they may not have noticed need to be cleaned up – like that last puzzle piece, another duplo behind the chair, etc…). We also try to turn it into a game by saying “Can everyone pick up one train track?” (they drop it in the bin) “Now try to find TWO train tracks this time” (and keep increasing the number each time). Or we also do that with colors (“Everybody start cleaning up by finding a BLUE block… Now a GREEN one”) etc… Anyway, not all of this works… especially not all the time – but at least we are trying!
ziff130 says:
May 12, 2012
The robot idea is awesome! With my kids, I normally ask, “How long do you think it will take you to clean your room?” They respond with a time, my 4 year old is always 100 minutes. LOL! Whatever the time is, I leave them alone and they do it then I come and check on them. However, morning chores we do all together and I have music blasting, we dance and we sing as we clean. It’s fun! Sometimes, when cleaning the floor, we pour soapy water all over it then we all stand on towels and clean it while dancing to the music. The kids LOVE that one.