Tips for Single Parents - How to Get Your Children to Help Around the House

The secret to getting your kids to help you around the house is twofold:

#1.  Play while you work to make the household chores fun!

#2.  Reward the kids for a job well done!

Begin your family’s “cleaning game” by holding a meeting to discuss the chores that need to be accomplished, and let the kids choose the tasks they will complete.

1. Musical Chores: Designate a project like dusting, mopping the floor, or picking up toys or clothing to each child and then start the music. At the end of each song, the children switch chores.

2. Clean as a Team. Working together in pairs or a group can be motivating. It helps everybody stay on track to complete our tasks when we see others working too.

3. Turn cleaning into a competition. Try having the kids shoot dirty laundry into the hampers as if they were shooting baskets in basketball.

4. Set a timer. Trying to beat the clock can create a lot of energy for cleaning. Set a timer for a certain amount of time and race to beat the bell.

5. Sock Puppet Dusters: Make sock puppets for dusting and start a contest to see whose puppet gets the dirtiest.

6. Hide and Seek: Hide individually wrapped candies under cushions, on windowsills, and under pillows. Whoever finds the most gets a special treat!

7. Children also enjoy anything that involves squirting water! Put window cleaner in a squirt gun, equip the child with some paper towel, and let them have fun cleaning windows, glass doors, and bathroom mirrors.

When prizes are to be awarded for a job well done, make sure the reward is something your child is excited about. Consider prizes like a family trip to the park or a museum, or tickets they can save up and redeem for a family outing like going to the zoo. Little ones might even like stickers or gold stars that they can display in their rooms. After you spend the day cleaning together, you can also reward the whole family by going out to dinner or to a movie!

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