6 Tips to Teach Your Child About Cleaning

Do you remember how decluttered and clean your apartment used to be before the children were born? Are you wondering how other parents can maintain sparkling clean homes AND have children at the same time? It all starts with the right mindset. Stop thinking that you can’t keep a clean home. On the contrary, be positive and believe – your home can be just as clean as the homes of other mums. And when you’ve adopted a positive mindset, time to change your attitude towards your children. Stop thinking that the kids are too young and won’t understand you when you try to teach them a thing or two about cleaning. In fact, children as young as 2 years old can not only understand your ‘cleaning lessons’, but they can help you with the household chores, too. 


Now you know the path to success. And if you can’t come up with the appropriate lessons to teach your children about cleaning, you can always get inspired by my list – it’s what I taught my children about cleaning. The age group of toddlers is hardest to teach. Since toddlers and their toys are inseparable, the most logical thing you can teach your toddler is to put their toys away after playtime. 

Put away toys

If you manage to teach your child to put their toys away while they’re still very young, you eliminate the risk of tripping over some of their toys. First – be realistic – you’ll need a lot of patience to teach your child to declutter their toys after play, especially when they are toddlers. The easiest way to teach your toddler to put their toys away is to sing a song about putting the toys away. Write a song about putting toys away and sing it to your child each time they play with their toys. I’ve tried this trick myself and it really works. When children reach preschool age, you can start teaching them to help you with household chores. Remember that it’s important to start small and work your way up as your child grows up. 

Make beds

It’s vital to teach your preschooler to make their beds. And it’s not just because when beds are made rooms look a lot cleaner. Making the bed will give your child a sense of accomplishment and they’ll begin the day more motivated, too. 

Set/clear tables and sort clothes

Children from 4 to 7 can set and clear tables, as well as sort clothes for laundry. And when your child becomes 7-9 years old, they can even wash dishes and do the laundry by themselves. 

Whatever you’re trying to teach your children, bear in mind a few things: 

Be specific

“Clean your room” isn’t comprehensible for children. On the contrary, “Put your toys in the toy basket” is. Also, avoid words like “Okay?”“and Please” – the firmer you say it, the more likely they are to do what you ask of them. 

Make cleaning fun

Children won’t respond to “Clean up this mess right now!”, but they’ll respond to “Whoever puts away all toys under 5 minutes will win a prize”. Don’t make cleaning sound dull. Opt to make each cleaning activity seem like a game. According to children’s behaviour scientists, children who perceive cleaning as part of a game are more likely to clean up after themselves. 

Have realistic expectations

Be satisfied with ‘clean enough’. Your 4-year-old can’t sanitise everything as good as you, and they’ll need a lot of time to finish a chore. Don’t scold them if they didn’t clean to your standards. Instead, acknowledge what they did and congratulate them.Good luck!

Author bio 

Sophia Evans is a manager of a small cleaning company and in her little free time - a writer. She loves to share her experience as a parent.

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