Cleaning With Kids
April 28th, 2008 by Carissa SAHMmy Says
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Kids of all ages benefit from being included in the responsibilities of homemaking. You may think folding laundry is boring, but your toddler will get a thrill out of sitting in the laundry basket and handing you towels. Preschoolers love to mimic Mommy–let your little one shadow your cleaning with her own spray bottle (filled with water) and dustrag. Kids want to learn how things work–what better discovery ground than your own home? Observing and helping with gardening, cooking, and yes, even cleaning offer dozens of teachable moments each day. Even a notoriously sloppy teenager may come over to the clean side if you offer to host a get together for his friends; party planning includes making the venue welcoming for guests.
Articles on Kids and Chores:
General tips on fostering a sense of belonging and responsibility in your child: Household Chores Teach Responsibility by Rowland P. Barrett, PhD.
Using Chores to Teach Better Behavior to ADHD Children presented by ADDitude magazine.
Notes from the trenches: Writer Terrie Bittner offers insight on Teenagers and Chores.
From Spring Cleaning: How Everyday Household Chores Can Teach Responsibility and More:
Encourage Every Attempt We need to take advantage of our kids' enthusiasm. When they express an interest in being helpful, we need to encourage that. Whether it's helping you baking a batch of cookies, or running the vacuum cleaner, our response can either encourage our kids to jump in and give it their best shot, or simply keep their thoughts to themselves the next time they get the idea to help out. Which do we want? Of course, we want to encourage our kids to participate with their full selves. Especially when your children are just starting out with a new task, you'll want to focus more on their spirit of willingness and their efforts than on the end result.
Fun Finds for Little Helpers:
In the Kitchen
Williams-Sonoma offers charming cooking gear and fun gadgets in the WSKids shop. Check out the Vintage Print Cherry Apron ($34), Kids' Toque ($22 personalized), and old fashioned Apple Peeler-Corer ($28).
In the Garden
Grow an historic garden with the Monticello Children's Garden Kit developed by Monticello's Education Department and the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants, $18.
Little gloves with licensed prints are cute but these look like the real deal: Childrens Gardening Gloves by Alex Toys, $5.99 at Amazon.com.
Windowbox.com offers a great selection of fun kits for your junior gardener. Bug catching toys from $5.95; gardening kits start at $7.99.
General Cleaning
Give your child a clean spray bottle filled with water (add a little vinegar for a nontoxic but real cleanser) and a rag. You can use what you have on hand or find a mini spray bottle with the sample size toiletries at any drug or discount store.
Little ones won't be using chemicals, but these colorful child size latex gloves add that realistic touch. $2.20 for a 12 pk in assorted colors from ClickBlick.com.
Tools in fun colors make dusting a game! Pink Feather Duster, $2.95 at MakeBelieveCostume.com. 3 piece green electrostatic dusting set, $5.99 at Amazon.com.
Many hands make light work! Involve your kids in homemaking tasks and enjoy the time spent together while teaching them valuable life skills.
Got a great tip for Cleaning with Kids? Share it in the forum!
(photo source: Good Housekeeping)
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April 28th, 2008 at 9:48 am
My 5-year-old loves to help with "jobs." My favorite job to give her is to "swiffer" my wood floors. I just give her the dry dusting cloths on the end of my swiffer, and she loves pushing it around the house (I love that crumbs and dust get picked up!) I also give her the cloths to wipe down wooden furniture for a quick dusting. I figure I had better take advantage of her willingness to help while she finds it exciting!
April 29th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Here is another fun IN THE GARDEN activity. How about spending an hour getting your young gardeners (and those young at heart), excited about plants and nature? I thought your young gardeners would enjoy an indoor gardening adventure, growing the TickleMe Plant (Mimosa pudica). Recently featured by the National Gardening Associations Kids Store, http://www.kidsgardeningstore.com/14-1030.html
If you want to give your young gardeners an experience they will never forget, consider having them grow a TickleMe Plant. This is the plant that will close its leaves and lower its branches when you tickle it. They sprout in days and can be grown indoors any time of year. Just Google TickleMe Plants or go to http://www.TickleMePlant.com for seeds and growing kits. This plant has turned many kids into plant and nature lovers. I know, because I grow TickleMe Plants in my classroom. Your children may never look at plants in the same way and neither will you!
Happy Growing
May 1st, 2008 at 5:57 am
I went to the http://www.TickleMeplant
web site. It's a real fun site and I learned so much about The TickleMe Plant. Am I the only one that never saw a plant move when it was tickled? I love this plant!
I ordered the custom party favors as my daughter wanted to give away something unique and this fit the bill, at a very low cost at that! I can't wait to grow my own!