Household responsibilityWe all want a welcoming, clean and comfortable home. However, keeping the house clean is easier said than done with busy little hands at home. Trying to do all of the housework on our own can be tough! It takes a lot more time to clean up than it does to mess up.

Enter, teaching our kids household responsibility. If we do everything for them as children, then they will be behind the curve when it’s time for them to make their own home. We don’t want our kids sent off to college not knowing how to do their laundry, pick up after themselves, or wash dishes after they eat. Their future roommates would not appreciate that at all. Here are a few ways we can teach our keiki household responsibility:

  1. Start teaching children from a young age the importance of cleaning up after themselves. Children as young as two years old are able to help with many things around the house. A few ways they can help are by putting away their toys immediately after they play, helping to clear off the table after dinner, and even putting away some of their laundry as long as they can reach the drawers.
  2. Use a timer and rewards to help your children get their chores done.
  3. Set a good example by cleaning up after yourself because, as you know, more is caught than taught.
  4. Work together to get the job done. For example, if you need to mop the floor, maybe your children can grab a rag and dry the floor behind you. Or, if you are sweeping, they can hold the dustpan. Young children love spending time with their parents, so doing chores together helps to get the job done and it also nurtures your relationship.