Contrary to popular belief, it is actually easy to get kids into the habit of partaking in household chores and cleaning up after themselves. It just takes the right kind of motivation to get children into the habit, and from there it just a matter of enforcing the habit so it doesn’t get broken.
However, just because you enforce the habit, it doesn’t mean that they are gleefully going to clean their room. Sometimes they need a little extra motivation to keep children on track. Following are a few ways to motivate children to keep up their good habit.
1. Teach Them How To Do It Properly
Some kids are not exactly sure what is expected of them and this can cause them to become unmotivated while cleaning because frustration sets in. It is your job to teach your children exactly what you want them to do, and what a really good job looks like. Once they understand exactly what is expected of them, it will become less frustrating and more doable for them.
2. Keep It Fun
One of the best ways to motivate anyone to do anything is to make a task fun, and children are no exception to the rule. If you can turn cleaning their room into a game, then you will help eliminate the boredom that causes children to stomp their feet and say, “I don’t want to!”
For example, you may want to create a ‘cleaning song’ specific for their room and see how many times they sing the song before they finish cleaning the room. This can help them move faster and be more efficient as they try to beat their record.
3. Create a Reward System
We all remember the gold star system from when we were young. There was a certain thrill that came while watching a parent or teacher put a gold star. Use that thrill to motivate your children to clean their room. However, instead of making the reward system simply for cleaning their room, break it up into separate tasks so that your child has extra chances to earn a gold star.
For example, making the bed, putting away toys, hanging up clothes, and tidying up their dresser can all be areas where they can earn a gold star.
If your child does not respond well to the gold star system alone, then try rewarding them in other ways. For instance, every time they reach 20 gold stars they get a trip to their favourite restaurant or attraction.
4. Praise Them For A Job Well Done
A reward system lets them know that they have done well, but all kids want to hear that their parents are proud of their accomplishments and that they have done a great job. Therefore, praise your children when they do a good job and let your acknowledgement be a reward in itself.
5. Do Not Let Them Get Away With Bad Behaviour
Habits are developed from consistency, and if you want your child to really stay motivated to do their daily routine, then you cannot let them get away with slacking off. Therefore, if they are supposed to clean their room every second day, then ensure that they stick to their schedule.
All kids react to pleasure and pain. Pleasure is reaching their goal and getting their reward. Pain is not reaching their goal and not getting their reward. Therefore, when bad behaviour arises, ensure that they move further away from their reward in some way, and you can bet that they will quickly start to work towards obtaining pleasure again.
And you can do your cleaning while you teach them to use the vacuum cleaner and washing machine. Let the fun begin!
Sandra Melo is a blogger to robertdyas.co.uk, a hardware retailer that provides household electrical and kitchenware.
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