I have seen all kinds of articles and friendly memes about Moms who have messy homes and how it’s part of loving your children. Here are a few I have heard!
- My home isn’t messy. It’s custom designed by a 3 year old and 6 month old.
- Good moms have sticky floors, messy kitchens, laundry piles, dirty ovens and happy children.
- The house was clean last week. Sorry you missed it!
- A messy house is a sign of character. You should see the characters that live here.
While I always chuckle when I see these types of sayings I also think to myself, BUT my house IS a mess and I hope no one stops by for an unannounced visit.
Since becoming a part-time working mama, I have found ways to get my preschooler (aged 3.5) involved in chores. I will admit that he doesn’t help on a daily basis and sometimes I resort to sitting him in front of the TV for something educational on PBS. But there are times that he helps and yes, he actually does an ok job! Keeping him involved in helping is not only fun for him, he is also not making another mess while I clean. Seriously, there are times when I clean up one mess only to find another mess created while I cleaned the first. Gah!
There are 2 chores he helps with, in addition to putting his own toys! One strategy that works really well for us is the good ole’ Premack principle. It goes a little like this for us, “When you put your toys away, you can get a hershey kiss.” I have his toys relatively organized and he does well with sorting them into the correct containers most of the time. I’m happy if the toys aren’t all over the floor! Most of the time, he is an eager participant and I try to give him tons of positive attention when he is being helpful. We sing and dance when we are cleaning so its fun rather than seeming like a chore.
Laundry:
Does anyone else have a pile of laundry that seems to never go away? I’ts amazing how such little people can create so much laundry. Anyway, I do 1 load of laundry daily! Most days, I wash and dry in the evening and we put it away in the morning. My 3.5 year old’s job is to find all the socks and underwear and put them in the drawers. This is a perfect task for him because it doesn’t involve folding. We tried folding pants and towels but it was more work for me than it was a help so now his task is just the socks and underwear. AND… he loves to help!
Vacuuming:
I was a little reluctant the first time I allowed my 3.5 year old son to vacuum but I have to give him credit, he did an ok job. Actually, he has earned himself a new chore. He doesn’t vacuum in neat lines like I would do but he tries to imitate me (I model vacuuming in lines each time- haha!) He does vacuum enough so that my floor looks cleaner than when he started which is good enough for me.