Copy of 7 Tips For Getting Your Kids to Clean Their Rooms

No child wants to clean their room. Let’s be honest; most adults don’t want to clean their rooms, either. All anyone wants to do in their downtime is kick back and relax; cleaning up after themselves is just not on the radar. However, we all want a clean house, with fluffy and smart carpets and sparkly windows. As adults, though, we set the example for our children. As much as we want to remain lazy and not do any cleaning, we all want to live in a clean and tidy home, which means we must find the motivation to clean.

If we find that motivation, we can encourage our children to clean up. This means that we need to get the kids to WANT to clean up after themselves, and to do this, we need to take the “boring” out of chores and make it more fun. Children are quite happy to live in a mess most of the time, so it’s our job to educate them as to why we need to make the space in which we live a tidy one.

So with that in mind, let’s take a look at seven of the best tips for getting the kids to clean their rooms!

Health Is Better

As you’re making cleaning their room a lesson, it’s a good time to teach them about hygiene in their room. Dust and dirt, the stains on the floor – they all present a hazard. Kids should get messy and fun, sure, but it has to be appropriate. You can teach them about scrubbing stains naturally so that they don’t have to use chemicals. You can teach them the importance of removing dirt so they don’t get sick. Health is better than filth, and you can use this as a chance to teach them that.

Create Some Rules

Make Sunday the day that bedrooms are cleaned properly. Laundry to the hamper and trash to the garbage can as necessary, but Sunday is the day for the vacuum cleaner to come out and the dust cloths to get a workout – depending on their age, of course. When you set a day, you set a rule. When you set a rule, you set a consequence and a reward. Children understand this, so set that rule and give them something to aim for with their efforts.

Save Your Energy

Now you’ve set the rules, don’t yell about it. Give gentle reminders on Saturday about Sunday being room cleaning day, but don’t shout about it. Children cower at a shout, but they respond to gentle conversation. Be patient and keep calm.

Set A Reward System

The natural reward of children cleaning their room is that their room looks great and can be enjoyed. However, they need a little boost. So, for every week they have a clean room on a Sunday, pick a reward. Let your children help you choose the reward within reason, but motivate them with it!

Give Them A Hand

Sometimes, children are little too young to clean their own room or they get overwhelmed about where to start. Instead of sending them in to do it all themselves, go with them and direct them in what to do. Make it fun. Put on a timer and race them (don’t actually tidy!) and let them win. Look around the room with them and ask them to point out what they think needs to be cleaned. It will take the stress right out of it!

Write A List

Lighten the load for your child by grouping tasks. If you have them do light jobs in the week and save the big clean for a Sunday, you make Sunday less of a “clean”. Every day, beds should be made, clothing needs to go to the laundry hamper and all rubbish picked up off the floor. These jobs take minutes, and they can be kept on a wipe-off tick list on their bedroom door to remind them what to do!

Dance It Out

Your kids dread cleaning and see it as a boring chore. So don’t make it a chore. Ramp up the music and dance with the mop, dip with the vacuum cleaner and scrub to the beat of the song. Clean against the clock and play “I Spy” for each task that goes along. Trust us, you won’t regret making it as fun and giggly as possible!