Organizing with Kids Chore Lists
Mayra Kavan,
While every child loves making the mess without cleaning it up, actually getting your little (or big!) ones to facilitate in the cleaning and home organization process is no easy feat. Some might even call it magic. Most children would rather watch their parents or siblings clean their messy spaces rather than sort through the clutter they’ve caused, or simply pretend the magic cleaning fairy (A.K.A. you!) takes care of it with a magic wave of their Swiffer wand.
However, believe it or not, there are ways to encourage your children to actually WANT to clean and organize their space. And if you set an example for your children at an early age by explaining how a clean and tidy lifestyle is happier and healthier (and means more free time where they can do what they want – within reason), they will soon follow your lead towards organization!
Introduce Chore Lists into Your Child’s Cleaning Routine
It could be as simple as writing a list of three chores to do over the weekend on your Kids Wall Organizer's Small Black 1WRITE To-Do Board. Or it could even be listing out one cleaning activity to do for each day of the week on Taylor’s Weekly White 1WRITE Board.
Whatever the tasks that are required for the week, incorporating a short chore list into your child’s life will lead to more prominent organization skills that allow your child to develop and learn how to contribute around the house long term.
An article from HGTV explains how “there’s a lot of research that suggests your child’s behavioral patterns are set by age three, and organizational skills are no exception.” Therefore, if your child’s organization patterns are implemented early on, especially with checklists to keep them on track, they will learn more strategies to keep tidy moving forward.
Incentivize Home Organizing and Cleaning Time
If your child is told that by cleaning their room and making their bed, they can stay up for thirty extra minutes, or they can even have one more cookie for dessert, we’re fairly-definitely-maybe positive that most kids would take up that deal in a heartbeat. It’s all about negotiation, of course.
By incentivizing cleaning and home organizing practices early on, it will continually encourage children to want to participate in chores as they know they will be rewarded for their actions.
While, of course, children eventually grow up and soon won’t be tempted by rewards or treats for their chores, they will at least have grown up with the healthy practices of organization that will stick with them.
With 1THRIVE’s Kids Toolkit, your children can even be rewarded through words and symbols of affirmation. If your child completes their chores list for the day, stick on the three gold star vinyl magnets to their command center to provide encouragement, appreciation, and words of affirmation!
Give Them Free Rein to Make Their Own Decisions
Overtime, children love to maintain their own level of responsibility and independence. If you, as a parent, set certain boundaries for your kids when it comes to cleaning and organization time, these will soon become habits in your child’s life.
Allow your children to implement their own routines and get creative with the way they clean and complete their chores.
Teaching your children healthy habits when they are young will only encourage them to learn and grow as they continue to complete chores and stay organized throughout their lives!
