Mother & Daughter Bonding Over FabKids.com

Last Monday, with coffee in hand, I was reading through my Facebook feed when I came along a post featuring an adorable outfit that cost $25 from FabKids.com.  Essie was sitting next to me so I went ahead and followed the link, thinking we could sit and do a little online window shopping while we had our breakfast.  Half an hour later, our order was confirmed and two days later we were opening that cute pink box and trying on our first FabKids outfit!

Tips To Get Your Kids On-Board With Household Cleaning From Dr. Jana

During the chaos that is BlogHer I had the great pleasure of taking a moment to sit down in the Lysol Recharge Station and talk with award winning author Dr. Laura Jana about kids and cleaning.  

As a board certified pediatrician and American Academy of Pediatrics Fellow, Dr. Laura Jana knows the many reasons why children need to be included in our household cleaning routines.  It’s her experience as a mother of three and owner of an educational childcare center that’s taught her how to turn these dreaded tasks into rewarding family time.

Teaching the importance of cleanliness and hygiene go without saying, but my first question for Dr. Jana was if there were long term benefits to having chores?  Turns out there are and you might be amazed at just how big those benefits are.  A study conducted by the University of Minnesota found that the best predictor of a child’s success is the age at which he or she begins helping with household chores.  It went on to show that children involved in regular cleaning routines had a sense of responsibility, competence, self-reliance and self-worth that stays with them throughout their lives.

I’m busy, you’re busy, we’re all busy, sometimes it just seems easier and quicker to do the work myself rather than try to explain how to do it or worse, have to re-do work.  That’s were Dr. Jana recommended setting aside a special time each week dedicated to cleaning.  You can’t expect any lessons to be learned or good habits created while you’re doing a quick sweep of the house before company comes over.  Designate cleaning time as family time so that it is a time to be enjoyed together and not dreaded. 

Little ones WANT to help and a great way to get them involved is to turn cleaning into a game, explained Dr. Jana.  Form an assembly line, set a timer, or implement a game of “hide and seek,” just be sure that your kids know the rules and their limits when it comes to handling cleaning supplies.  Assign ambitious jobs like vacuuming, scrubbing and disinfecting for older kids while the younger ones handle simpler one-step tasks like dusting or picking up toys.  In our house my two little ones are the designated ‘runners,’ running everyone’s toys, books, shoes and miscellaneous items to their respective bedrooms.