tips for bedroom cleaning with kids

Bedroom cleaning with kids may feel like a battle that often isn't worth fighting. Why not just give up and close the bedroom door?

One really good reason: Bedroom cleaning with kids is essential if we want our kids to grow up to to be self-sufficient adults.

To learn all the cleaning tips and tricks they'll need to do this on their own, they'll need to practice. With us.

Start by Defining the Word "Clean"

Kids need to know exactly what we mean by "clean". What is a clean bedroom? Not a speck of dust? Toys and clothes put away? A clear walkway?

Write it down, in checklist form, so kids can easily succeed by meeting your expectations. What exactly do you expect? And how often do you expect it?

Not only do you need to spell each chores out for your kids, but you'll also have to motivate them to actually get moving on the chore.

For little ones, the promise of a game of Candy Land with Mommy or a bike ride around the cul-de-sac with Daddy might be all the prodding you'll need to do to get the little one to get that big-boy job done.

Ideas for Getting Reluctant Kids to Clean

Where tweens are concerned, you can take stronger action. If stuff is on the floor, take control.I know one mom who got angry and packed away her kid's American Girl doll collection after repeated infractions. Then the girl had to earn it back. 

For each clean-room week, she had one doll returned.

Here's an idea for teens. Make them sign a lease agreement! This could state how a room will be kept. If said teen violates the lease, no, you can't evict her, but you can yank a privilege or three.

Or, maybe have her pay "damages" out of her allowance. You could try a credit-card approach. Tell your son you will give hime a $30 credit card at the end of the month.  

The catch: For every day that his room is dirty (as defined in the lease) there will be a dollar deducted from the card.

The beauty of this system is that you're going to spend at least $30 a month on your teen's wardrobe anyway.

Why not make him work for it?  If all else fails, you can always close the bedroom door.

When it comes down to it, even though it's embedded in a mom's genes to want to simply clean a kid's room, you should try to resist the urge to do this essential chore for him or her. You're robbing your little angel of a life lesson she needs to learn.

---

---