should i be a slave to housework i feel as if im constantly tidying all day cos my kids make a mess as soon as

Answer 1

How old are they? If they are very young you can ask them to put things in a basket. If they are older, tell them to confine their messes to their rooms. My son was a class A slob & I hired a housekeeper every month or so just to hit his room. Unfortunately, a messy house comes w/having kids, something else they don't tell you!

Answer 2

Do what my mom did, and teach them responsibility rather than punishment. Offer to let them choose their own chores, then every weekend, have them all come back to the house at a specific time for an hour.

Clean bathrooms, rooms, dust, wet mop, etc. It will become routine, and because everything will get done at once, they won't have to listen to you nag, and you won't have to.

My mom had four kids. The three youngest cleaned a bathroom apiece while the oldest mowed the lawn or did yard work. We would also wet mop and vacuum once a month or so. It really wasn't that bad, and it became much easier on us and mom.

Answer 3

No, you should not! The children must be trained to do their part. They are going to have homes of their own someday and need realize it at an early age. One of the best things we can do for our kids to to teach them reponsibilty for their own actions and their own belongings.
Also how to be a contributing member of a unit (family, club, group of friends etc) by pitching in and helping. This is easier said than done. There was a great book I used to help me not be a slave. Name: Sidetracked Home Executives. Old but still very useful. Maybe the kids won't mind doing their part when they see how happy it makes you! Star

If there's a dad handy, use him. Many hands make light work!!

Answer 4

This tried and true method works every time, get a divorce ad give custody of the kids to the dad, and never do housework again...when it gets really really bad like when you can't find that favourite pair of undie you call in Molly Maids.

Answer 5

Thought #1: If these kids don't learn to clean up after themselves now, when will they? Boys and girls both need basic survival skills.

Thought #2: How many more days until school starts and things fall back into order?

Answer 6

Your job as a parent to teach your kids that they have to clean up after themselves. Don't teach by example for the rest of your life, get them doing the cleaning with you!

Answer 7

When I was a kid part of doing my chores was to vacuum my room each week and by age 12 I started doing my own laundry. We had 3 kids and a 2-story house so my mom didn't want to do all the cleaning herself.

Before I entered High School my mom had two more kids, making five. Since she and my father had 3 kids getting ready to go to college they both had to work. The 3 oldest kids had to take up the slack. We vacuumed the whole house and had other chores, like cleaning the bathroom and taking care of the babies and starting dinner. My parents didn't make us do their own laundry, clean their bathroom, or their bedroom, but they made us clean the common areas and our own areas.

I was also required to keep my own room tidy. Those images I see of a "typical" teenagers room would never make it in my family. My parents were strict, but they didn't have to beat us, ground us, or yell at us. The worst thing my father ever said, was that he was disappointed in us. That was enough to rock my world.

As your kids get older you need to give them a few more chores to do. It is all a part of growing up so they can become adults. Start with the vacuuming, they can each do their own rooms as soon as they are old enough to run the machine. Then have them help out in other ways. It was always my job to sweep the kitchen floor after dinner and take out the trash. My sisters had to start dinner, set the table and clean out the dishwasher (mom ran it every night). Mom had some high standards of cleanliness and passed them on to use. Have them clean the bathroom, they can take turns or do parts of it each week. Once they realize that they have to clean their areas they should start taking better care of them. Mom didn’t pull any inspections on use, and dad left the running of the house to my mother. But, we knew she expected our house to be kept clean and that meant our rooms as well. She didn’t mind us playing in the house, but when we stopped we were expected to put our toys away. Usually, I tried to put them on the stairs so I could pick them up when I went upstairs to my room, but she didn’t like that. Sure she had to tell us to do some things a few times, she had patience with us, but by the third time we knew we had better get hopping. Usually, then came the cry, can I do it at the commercial, which she allowed. But, the moment that commercial came on the TV we got to it.

Raise your kids’ duties a little, and raise your expectations of what they can do as well. Don’t pile a lot of jobs on them at once give it to them slowly. You might raise their allowance a little as part of their new duties. Surely a quarter or a dollar a more a week is worth having them keep their own areas clean. It isn’t a bribe, its part of their chores. Explain to them that as they get older they have to do more and be more responsible. Part of that responsibility will be letting them have a little more money of their own. One of my mother’s favorite sayings was “I am not your maid.” She kept track of our dad and often cleaned up after him. That was part of her job and she never failed to do her share. She set the example and expected us to follow it.

Answer 8

True story: My mother (now deceased) got tired of picking up clothes my dad had thrown on the rug one day, so she nailed them to the floor. Probably you can think of a more creative plan for revenge.

Answer 9

Why on earth are you doing it all. Kids need to have their own chores and responsibilities - they're part of the family too.

Answer 10

You shouldn't have to clean up after your kids! Make them clean up after themselves! Give them chores and things like that! And your house should always be clean!