How to get children to clean...?

Question

I want to make a rewards chart to get them motivated to clean. Can somebody please suggest how I should format the chart and also I'm having a hard time finding a reward to give them after they do their chores for so long. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Sorry. The girls are 7 and 11.

Answer 1

Make a chart, and give each of your children some kind of magnet or something that you can easily move (say a bumble bee or a bird magnet or something). Tell them that every time they do something they're supposed to, their little token will go up.

When it reaches the top, give them something (say, a toy you can buy at the dollar store for a couple of bucks or something). This way, they get something they can get excited about, and it doesn't have to break the bank. I hope this helps!

Answer 2

My 4.5 year old has some terrible issues with cleaning. He;s getting better though. Here's what I have done.

1) Incorporated cleaning into his daily schedule as his 'job'. He must clean the toys before bath time.
2) Any toy that does not get cleaned up goes in 'toy time-out'for a full day.
3) He has a red/green star chart for various things. If he does not clean he gets a red star in addition to all the above.

This combination in conjunction with the emphasis on cleaning at school seems to be motivating him more.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Instead of charting or a reward system, make cleaning part of their normal schedule. Every morning, you make your bed. Every morning they make their bed. Dirty clothes go into dirty clothes hampers, not on the floor. You'll need to instruct them, show them, and then expect it to be done. As for cleaning, make it a family project...in our house...dad cooks, mom cleans, dad gives baby a bath, mom puts baby to bed. We alternate. Have a list and "pick" from it...children dust, adults vacuum, etc. Turn on some music and clean :)

Answer 4

Do columns listed Monday thru Friday.

Rows with the names of the chores to be done.

Stickers or markers for making marks in the appropriate boxes.

Make rewards things that have to do with daily living, not prizes or cluttery toys:
-TV, computer or video game time (denominations of time based on amount of work completed)
-Outdoor play time (denominations of time outside based on amount of work done)
-Time at the playpark, library or having "girl time" (manicure, pedicure, etc.)

Answer 5

make a bored wiht both of the girls name at top under a list of chores every time they compelet a chore put a star by there name once one has 5 star the get a reward it can be anything they like hop i help ..........furturestar

Answer 6

todays duties

- clean bathroom sink
- clean bathroom floor

- pick up your room (clothes and toys)
- pick up your living room (all stuff on the floor)
- vaccumn the living room
- sweep the kitchen


done for 12 days straight reward one nite to watch tv 10pm
Weekend nite

Answer 7

Cleaning up should be a normal task not something rewarded. But you can reward during training times. When I was teaching the children how to fold and hamper their clothes and get dressed without completely disheveling their drawers, we played the drawer fairy game - yes, they knew it was really me, but it was fun. It made it fun to work at developing the new skills. They didn't know when during the week that the drawer fairy would check the drawers, but if she found them in good order she left them a pack of gum or some ofther treat. I typically would stay on one new skill with them for 9 to 12 weeks before it moved out of the reward category and into an expected chore. We also had a pillow fairy for bed-making, a bathroom fairy for neatening up after brushing and bathing (a washcloth tied into a satchel with a ribbon and name tag on the counter was that fairy's gift space. There was always at least on skill in progress at any one time. The older kids are teens now and I have fond memories of these games with them. I have a 6-year old still though, so I have a few more years yet to play at being the 'neatness fairy'.

We had a five-minute rule on room disorder. If they kept their room within a 5-minute pick-up window they were fine. If I suspected the room was outside of a 5-minute pick-up window I would ask them if they felt they were within bounds. If they looked round and realized it was messier than they could clean in five minutes they would pick up a bit. If they thought that they were within the boundaries, I would challenge them to prove it. The timer would be set and I would leave them to hurry-scurry. If they could pick it up in 5-minutes they got to enjoy proving mom wrong. If they were incorrect, they usually ended up getting the room to actually be neat enough to be in a five minute window by the time their first try was up and I would typically be satisfied with it.

On occassion, a bad mood would hit a particular child, I tried to watch for this and not push the room thing unless the room was getting well out of control and it needed to get done for a good reason, mood or not. If a child refused a 5-minute pick up challenge and chose to let a bad mood lead them to sitting on their backside while the timer was ticking, I would resort to the 'monster bag'. I only had to do this with each of the kids two or three times during childhood though. The monster bag claimed all toys not put away because a child refused to care for the toy by not even trying to putting it away in a 5-minute challenge. By not trying, I mean fully sitting there with lip out and defiance on face the entire 5-minutes. They could get the toys back from Mr.Monster at the end of 3-days so long as he didn't 'feed' again during that time.

One note about the 5-minute pick up rule. You have to do your part by making sure they had adequate storage for toys. Not only enough in quantity but also of the design that fit their age. If you don't do your part it isn't fair to expect them to get toys out of sight when there literally isn't room to store them out of sight.

My youngest has a very tiny room. It used to be a 1920's food pantry. Back then they had big pantries! Though big for a pantry, it is by no means spacious as a bedroom. It is probably about the size of a typical trailer bedroom. My husband built him a loft bed - really neat and he is the envy of all his friends. He has roll-around drawers that hold the majority of his toys. These can easily be rolled one behind the other to open up more space for playing. However, the small space means that it looks cluttered quicker than it would be noticed in a larger room. The fact that the drawers are 'layered' means pick up is harder for him because if his floor is flilled with toys to be picked up, he cannot spread the drawers out for access during pick up as easily. These unavaoidable problems mean that I am more apt to pitch in with him than I did with the older kids in their big bedrooms. I usually get him started by helping him clear the floor until the drawers can be spread out. Then he is on his own from there.

If your children have small bedroom issues, you might like to see my youngest's bedroom. You can see pics of it at his blog at http://homeschoolblogger.com/ZMoore/

Answer 8

How old are your children?? Then i can give you an idea on what u can do.

Answer 9

hit in the head with a mop!!