I have been blessed with a child who loves to help; I mean really loves to help. If Mommy is trying to fold the laundry he thinks he needs to “fold” too. After which he promptly feels the need to jump into each of the piles, because what’s the sense in folding laundry if you’re not going to jump in it afterward, right?
At three years old, he loves to sweep, mop, vacuum, clean bathrooms, do laundry, and just about anything else around the house. Having him “help” may take me three times as long, but he is learning little life lessons along the way that make the extra time worth every second.
As single parents we are doing the work of two already. Why not enlist your children’s help? Children in today’s society are forgetting how to work. They’ve had too much handed to them. As parents it is our job to prepare them for the real world and that includes teaching them the value of hard work. They may not clean the bathroom quite as well as Mom does, but they will never learn those things unless you give them the opportunity. Have little jobs around the house that they can help you with. Children of all ages can help out, whether it is learning to pick up their toys off the floor, or learning to dust off the bookshelves. Children can and should be helping around the house.
The more involved your children are in the household the more connected they feel to the family. It gives them a sense of responsibility. It doesn’t have to be something your kids dread every day. Get creative with your chores. Make it into a game. Do a little jig while you’re washing windows today. See who can finish picking up their toys the fastest. Put on some music and see how much they can get done by the time the song is over. There are lots of ways that you can make cleaning fun for your kids. You just have to get a little creative sometimes!