4 Ways to Occupy Your
Kids While You Clean House

February 19, 2018

Let Them Help with Housekeeping We’ll be blunt—there are very few toddlers out there who are going to leave your kitchen squeaky-clean. But young children may be curious about your housecleaning tasks and they never want to be far from your side, so letting them help in a limited way will give them something to do and make them feel like they’ve accomplished something. Make sure to include plenty of praise! Start small by asking for their help putting their toys in the toy chest, or give them a damp cloth to wipe down the table. Older children may enjoy vacuuming, provided you’ve looked over the rugs and determined there’s not a LEGO or bracelet that might accidentally be sucked up.

Give Them Coloring Books

Back in the day, this was the end-all, be-all of kids’ activities; today, crayons are often forgotten in our world of streaming video and mobile phones. Don’t just plug your kids into the television; instead, set them up with coloring books and a new “magical” set of crayons, and let their imaginations run wild. Sidewalk chalk, watercolor paints, and stickers will also do the trick and distract the kiddos with art. Pro tip: Ask them to create something specific (e.g. draw a family picture, or fill in three slabs of concrete with color) to keep them focused on a goal while you go about your house cleaning plans.

Send Them Outside

Let your kiddos answer the call of the wild and send them into the backyard. If you’ve got 20 minutes to spare before cleaning house, set up a scavenger hunt for them, or use stencils and spray paint to craft a game of lawn Twister. Just remember to slather them with sunscreen first!

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Let Them Do Something Off-Limits

Sometimes there’s no way around it—the weather is working against you, or one of your little ones is ill. Whatever the reason, if you want a tidy house, cleaning around your children is the only option! To that end, let them do something you wouldn’t usually permit. Let them build a fort in your bedroom using sheets from your bed, or permit them to play a game on your iPad, which is usually safely out of reach. We promise they’ll quiet right down! We hope these cleaning tips are useful for you, but if you just can’t get the kids to relax, give us a call at 800-THE-MAIDS and ask about our services. Whether you need a hand with daily house cleaning or just want to come back to a shining home, we’re here to help!