March 16, 2008 at 9:57 am
· Filed under Family
Friday after school, I decided that something had to be done - I couldn’t face the weekend with a totally messy house (and the cleaning ladies don’t come until next week), but looking around I realized that most of the mess was created by my three kids. I wanted them to help clean up, but know from experience that there is the hard way of getting this accomplished - screaming, yelling, demanding, and general dictatorship - and there is the easy way!
The secret is MAKE IT FUN! I devised a plan and when all was said and done, it took us about 2 hours to really make this house shine. 
The Ingredients:
- A timer
- Strips of paper labeled with each room you want cleaned (we have done this with actual tasks, too)
- A bowl
- Some fun music
- A mystery/reward
The Plan:Â
We started by having my youngest daughter pull a slip of paper out of a bowl - this let us know where we would start. Once we knew the room, my oldest set the kitchen timer for 20 minutes and my middle daughter picked the tunes on the iPod. We all headed to that room and started picking things up, putting them away, wiping down surfaces, and getting the room clean.
When the timer went off, we stopped - no matter where we were in the process. I added a twist to the fun. As a reward I had planned on letting the kids get a movie off Pay-Per-View and having a family movie night, so I gave them a clue for the reward. I have never seen my kids so excited to get something done (especially my 6 year old who normally refuses to help with anything)!
After the 20 minutes was up, everyone got 5 minutes of free time before we started the process over with a new room. I switched up who got to pick the room, set the timer, and pick the music each time so that the kids felt like they were in charge.
You would be amazed at how easy this was and the kids were so proud of their work. I even overheard one of them reminding the other to pick up something in the bathroom because we had just worked so hard to make it clean!
With spring break right around the corner, I will be pulling out the Chore Chart again as a warm up for summer vacation!
PS - we watched The Game Plan as our reward. It was such a cute movie and totally appropriate for a family movie night!
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[…] Do you want to know my secret for getting the kids to help with the house cleaning? Check out my post at Casual Keystrokes to find out how I got my three kids to help clean the house - willingly - yesterday. […]
[…] The secret to getting your kids to help out with the chores at Casual Keystrokes. […]
Laura wrote @ March 16th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Hi Char, I checked out your chore chart, I love it. Would you mind emailing it to me? Thanks!
Laura
Char wrote @ March 16th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Laura - the chart is on its way to you. Enjoy.
[…] got my 3 kids to help me clean the house on Friday without as much as one complaint. Find out my secret to getting kids to help with the chores at my other site, Casual […]
Great idea, Char!
Lovely idea! I’ll have to try this with my son.
Linette wrote @ March 16th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
I have to do the same thing to get myself motivated, LOL, I set the timer and think of a small reward for cleaning (a cup of coffee, I can check my e-mail, etc.).
Aurelia wrote @ March 16th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
What a great idea. I will have to try this one.
Great idea! I really wish I’d read my email earlier today! I opted for the threat method - so far I’ve accumulated two new cell phones, one ipod charger, one laptop and one Nintendo DS Lite.
I did threaten to sell their XBox 360 and games on eBay and tell why I was selling them to make a real mint online. That seemed to really do the trick and get he job done! 
I’ll choose your method next time.
Awesome idea, Char! Would it work with husbands too?
It’s really hard to make kids help with chores especially when they are into hobbies or games or wanting to go out of the house always. Great tips!
homemom3 wrote @ March 17th, 2008 at 7:10 am
we do the drawing chores as well. Lots of fun for the kids and they don’t look at it as a chore really but a competition.
Aileen wrote @ March 17th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Great useful ideas, Char! I surely plan to put them to good use this summer. One idea that worked for teen grandson whose room was always somewhat like a dangerous bear’s den was to buy him a nice book of Fung Shei (is that how you spell it?). It inspired him so much he cleans his so-peaceful room twice a week now! Thanks…
[…] over at Casual Keystrokes blog has a post Moms and Grandmas should love My Secret to Getting the Kids to Help with Chores. I like this idea so much I’m going to make it a regular this summer when we’ve a […]
kellys wrote @ March 17th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
What a great idea! I can’t wait until my kids get old enough to hopefully do stuff like this as well.
Hey i love your chore chart..great idea!! im going to try it out with my kids..thanks
toni wrote @ April 16th, 2008 at 4:36 am
That’s creative! Great idea!
Zach wrote @ August 17th, 2008 at 1:44 am
This is a terrific idea.
You might want to take a look at the chores your kids are ready to learn, age by age.
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