Kids & Cleaning

My daughter is 7 and my son is 4. They love helping me clean around the house.

I use norwex clothes to clean, so no chemicals. They are able to use them as well, and are always asking if they can use them to clean something. I also use Essentisl oils, which are safe for them with supervision.

My daughters jobs are: putting her clean clothes away, feeding her fish, wiping her bathroom counter, sweeping the dining room, and picking up her toys.

My sons jobs: putting away clean silverware from the dishwasher, putting his clean clothes away, helping gather garbage, wiping down the stair rails, and picking up his toys.

Extra chores they ask to do: cleaning mirrors, dusting, wiping down kitchen cupboards, mopping, laundry.

As a parent educator, I am thrilled to hear about the kids helping around the house !

I have always done the heavy cleaning. My kids are responsible for putting dishes into the dishwasher, putting clean clothes back in drawers/closets, putting away their toothbrushes/toothpaste, tossing dirty clothes in the hamper, straightening their rooms and bringing dirty laundry into the laundry room.

My own Mom always did the heavy cleaning. Therefore, I have never asked my kids to do the heavy cleaning. I like it done a certain way. So,
I take care of that myself.

I started mine on bathrooms when she was about 9. Same for my GD. Then at 11 she started taking a turn at the dishes.

I think 6 is a bit young for really cleaning.

I don't think I'll ever have my kids do real cleaning except for dishes and maybe some of their bathroom. I never did any as a kid and I'm a very good and quick cleaner as an adult. My mom didn't see that as my job - my job was schoolwork and being a kid. Hers was maintaing the house. So I'm surprised people actually expect their kids to do real cleaning. As a teenager I may have done some here and there but certainly not before then. I hate to say it but real cleaning seems a bit like slave labor for little kids. I'm the minority but that's my POV.

My older kids are 9 & 7 and I don't have them clean the bathroom or anything major yet. They wipe off tables with a damp towels and they vacuum. When I do start having them clean it will be with simple things like vinegar and water, baking soda, etc.

My son is too young still at 18 momths, but this is how it was at my house growing up. I remember washing dishes in 4th grade every night (I actually rinsed and my older sister washed). By that age I also helped with sorting the laundry. I started using cleaners when we bought a home that was filthy and it had to be scrubbed down before it would be livable. That was the summer before I started 6th grade.

My girls are 9 & 6. They are responsible for keeping their bedrooms and their playroom clean. They have garbage jobs. Our garbage has to go out the night before pickup. They are responsible for all of the bedroom garbages (including ours) and all of the bathroom garbages. My girls are both on the petite size so I do not have them vacuum. They do dust. My youngest has asthma ( which we have under control) so I am careful about her dusting and using cleaners. They do not wash floors. I have a steam mop and you have to keep it moving or it will damage the floor. If I was still doing floors the hands and knees way, they still wouldn't be washing floors. They both use the swifter sweeper to sweep the floors after meals. My oldest makes her and her sister's bed and my youngest has the "bow" job. We have pony holders, barretts, headbands etc., that seem to end up everywhere. She has to gather them up and put them away. I think it's super important to give the kids some chores to do. It teaches them responsibility and it allows them to earn a little money so I am not the one buying things. They love the dollar store! :)

My kids are only 4 and 2, but I doubt I will have them help with the heavy cleaning till they are around 8. I am in the process of trying to find a small vacuum that they can use now, as my son would absolutely love to help me with the vacuuming. I do think I will have my daughter start helping with some of the dusting when she is 5, but right now I feel like making their own beds, clearing their place settings, sweeping the floor, etc. are enough.

I do occasionally let them help me wash the floors. I only use vinegar, so I don't worry about it.

By the age of 12, I cleaned my mom's house every week. My plan is to have my kids at that same place by that age.

2ish.

His favorite job at that point was wiping down the cupboards and helping cook.

There is this window of opportunity when kids WANT to help / copy what your're doing typically between ages 2-4. If you miss that window, then cleaning isn't "normal", and becomes a battle in most cases.

No. He didn't do a good job in the beginning. No worries. What I was going for was the habit. By 5, he could clean the entire kitchen (counters, cupboards, sweep & mop the floor) to my own standards in about 15 minutes. No fuss, no muss.

Similarly... he started doing his own laundry (with help, he was too short to pour in the soap or cycle so I'd hold him up, but he could lob his clothes in the machine on his own / and take his dry clothes and hang them up) when he was 2ish.

My son's 9, now, and he's a great helper. We can bust through the house in no time flat with the music going, and then just get back to other things. Yes, the first couple years there were bigger messes and things took longer. But the end result was that by age 5, he cut the time in half. Now? It's like having a REALLY fast, flexible, capable adult who can run up and down the stairs 40 times or get the awkward places (under things / behind things).

Rockin.

my daughter is 5 and i let her use the non toxic stuff to clean floors and tables but i wouldnt trust her not to spray it in her eyes for a few years..plus i dont see the need to get her to clean that much yet. as long as she cleans her room and toy room and does little chores i assign her i'm happy

My daughter is 7. She makes her bed, empties the trashes, helps me sort laundry, and wipes down the dining table after each meal. I don't really want her cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming or mopping at this point.

Well, since I really almost never use the "real cleaning solutions" except in sinks and toilets....Mine do most things already. My oldest is six and she's been asking if she can learn to clean toilets soon. I think she could totally handle it, so I'll teach her when I remember to. I'll get her some gloves, and we have a brush bowl. Otherwise, I just sweep and only use the wet swiffer about twice per year :-0. She vacuums and does laundry. She can do dishes and wipe down counters with soapy water, ring the rag, etc. Her younger brother, four still just picks up pretty much. My cousin has 7 kids, and they all start household "real cleaning" around 5 with straightening, sweeping, folding type stuff around 2-3.

I've never had my kids do any of the "real" cleaning because I am way too picky about it being done really well, lol!
It sounds like their chores are plenty and age appropriate. I also think it's good to have them help clean out and vacuum the car, because most of the time it's mostly their mess anyway :)
And they can take out the trash, feed/water the pets, water plants, stuff like that, too.

My daughter started doing heavier cleaning such as dishes, bathroom, sweeping/mopping at about six. She didn't start vacuuming until this past year at 8 because she couldn't handle the power the vacuum has. My son who is 5 is only held responsible to clean his room, clean the table, put his things away where they go, and put his laundry in the hamper. -He is autistic and at this point those are the only chores I know he can handle and actually do successfully without breaking or ruining something.

My son helps by doing the light vaccum jobs - not the stairs and not when there is pet hair everywhere! He asks me DAILY if he can vaccum. He also helps sweep - I make the pile with the big broom and he uses the hand held one to sweep it into the dust pan and helps get the corners and under the table (small bodies) he also uses the swiffer wet on simple messes I use it when I need to do the whole kitchen/laundry room/hall way. He helps - but his "chores" are mostly around the dogs - feeding, letting them out/in etc. I do not ask that his room be spotless, it is his area to do with as he likes, not everyone agrees with this but it works for me, when it does need to be clean he is in charge of it. I ask him to once a week pick everything up and to make sure we can walk into his room at bedtime or he does not get story time and tucked in. I keep it basic, but I am about to up his requirements and get an actual chore chart. I am not too fond of kids and most cleaning agents personally, I try to keep it minimal.

My oldest son is 9 and he can start and move over laundry and I just started letting him clean off the kitchen island and counters, he can also vacuum the LR.

My oldest SS's did things like dishes and mopping floors at around 13-14(ish)?

I guess I am a slacker and starting too late?....I mainly just have them clean up family room and living room (10 minute tidy) and their own bedrooms and that's it for awhile.

I think when SD was 9 or 10 she cleaned a bathroom, dusted & vacuumed (she liked doing those).

Now that she is 14 1/2 she doesn't have to do those things but DH has her do dishes & sometimes her own laundry.

It all works out in teaching them how much we do in the house and in helping them learn how to do it when they have their own house.

My oldest is 6 and he helps, but I will not let him use cleaning products. He helps me unload the dishwasher, picks up toys, puts his laundry away, puts groceries away, brings the laundry to the laundry room, takes the sheets of all the beds, etc.

My son was 3 when I got him a child sized mop, broom and dust pan. I would let him mop with just plain water and yes I would have to do it over again but at least he felt like he was really helping and making a difference. The real cleaning began for the kids at about 8 or 9. From 3 - 8 they learn how to prepare foods, help stir cold things and occassionally hot things, fold clothes, dust, sweep, wipe down window interiors with vinegar and water, and other simple small tasks.

When they become 10 and up each year is a new thing to learn and master. By the time they become 16 they can cook (breakfast, lunch and dinner), and clean (everywhere and everything, and iron for the entire family. When they turn 18 they are responsible for only themselves in the house as they prepare to go off to college. The voluntarily help out around the house because they are a part of the family and as a way of saying thank you.

There are only boys left in the house. The girls are out and on their own.