I always try to remind myself whenever I ask the kids to take on house chores that there are TWO goals:
- To get the housework done without doing it all myself
- To teach them how to take care of a house
Often parents remember the first one, but are so frustrated by how much more effort it takes than to just do it themselves, they forget the second goal. No one is good at anything the first time they try it, so your kids need to practice cleaning just like they practice anything else. The Trip Clip® Cleaning Checklists are a great guide to help kids remember all the steps, and also to help them know that there really is an end to this truly horrible task. My kids have sometimes complained that it feels endless to them because I keep “adding on more jobs”. If they can see the whole list of tasks right from the start then they can at least track how far through it they are, and trust that I’m not just going to add things to their list infinitely.
This checklist helps make a task that seems overwhelming feel manageable by breaking it into smaller steps. It makes your expectations clear, helps your kids know how to start, and helps them know there really is an end in sight!
You can print this list for free right now.
Or, if you need to make some changes to make it work well for your family, you can easily edit this list to make it just right.
For more room cleaning checklists, check this out:
The Trip Clip Blog 
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