I am all for getting my kids to help around the house! I am a busy working Mum and I believe that teaching these traits at an early age will have a positive impact later in life. Research indicates that kids who have chores to do around the house have higher self-esteem, are more responsible, and are better able to deal with frustration – all of which contribute to greater success in school. I have heard that if you involve your kids in chores they have a higher chance of ‘success’ in their mid 20’s! Can you believe that?!
I feel that doing chores around the house gives my kids an opportunity to give back to me & my husband for all the things that we do for them. That may sound a little harsh BUT I want my kids to see themselves as important contributors to the family. Holding them accountable for their chores can increase a sense of achievement within themselves and give them a sense of responsibility.
I don’t want my kids to be one of those ‘over indulged’ kids that I do too much for. Don’t get me wrong, I do A LOT for them (we have a whole website dedicated to the fun things we do) but I don’t want to be a parent that doesn’t expect anything from my kids. I don’t want my kids to be the last kid that can tie their shoe, do up a button or at a later age or have no idea how to do laundry! By expecting children to complete self-care tasks and to help with household chores, we as parents equip our kiddies with the skills to function independently in the outside world. In closing – let’s not make ourselves feel bad for making the kids help!
So with everything that we do at Paging Fun Mums…we of course, like to add in an element of FUN. I came up with a song (sung to the tune of row, row, row your boat) that is now embedded in my kids heads. It makes it easy for them to remember their tasks (as all jingles do) and it reminds them to clean up after themselves in the bathroom. We have also created a Reward Chart printable which you can download for FREE here:
This helps the kids keep focussed and WANT to do their jobs. Every time they follow that jingle they get a sticker and if they complete their ‘bathroom duties’ for the whole week (Mon – Sun), they get a little treat. Whether it be 10 minutes on the iPad, an extra 10 minutes to stay up after bed time, a bit of Nutella action for afternoon tea – or whatever we choose for the week.
Wipe down the bath after you hop out, wipe down the bench after you clean your teeth and squeegee the shower down after you’ve finished. It’s these simple things that will save you A LOT of work at the end of the week!
Check out our video of the jingle in our fun YouTube Clip here:
I clean the kids bathroom thoroughly once a week but if they keep up these simple tricks then it will be maintained until the next time I get in there!
I hope you get your kids to help you around the house and clean the bathroom whenever they use it, remember it’s good for them aswell as you!
We have some other fun videos for you to view too! You can check them out here.
Jen x
