September has been filled with ideas to make your work more fun. But, what about those (often overlooked) folks who work at home? I’m talking about the moms and dads who choose to forgo careers to raise their rugrats- the hardest jobs of all. It’s hard to imagine making diaper changing and high chair tray cleaning fun! If you don’t, though, Adultitis is sure to set in… big time!
I found this cool article written by a mom who was getting frustrated with the busyness of the chores of life, which were keeping her from playing and spending quality time with her toddler… until, she discovered a way to combine the two into one. Christina Farley shared,
One morning, while I was tackling the mountain of dishes after breakfast, my 2-year-old son, Caleb, tugged on my leg. He begged for me to play with him. Guilt plagued me. Why hadn’t I gotten up earlier so I could have more time with him?
‘Soon I’ll be done. I’ll wash as quickly as possible. Then we can play with your Little People,’ I promised.
‘I want wash dishes too,’ he said. How could I resist those big eyes? Reluctantly, I allowed him to pull up a chair and handed him a sponge. Ten minutes later, the dishes were washed, the kitchen was clean, and we’d had a blast. Why hadn’t I thought of this earlier?
So simple… yet so profound. The article goes on to share five additional ways to incorporate your kids into the day-to-day Adultitis-producing tasks like sorting laundry, grocery shopping (my LEAST favorite chore!), making the beds, etc., making them way more palatable and even fun.
Regardless of whether you spend your 9-5 at home or not, these are enjoyable ways to get the chores done with your kids, without them complaining about doing the dirty work. Who knew dusting could turn into family fun?
Do you have a tip to share?
How do you make your day-to-day tasks more digestible?
My little one started helping me when she was barely walking. We do dishes together, laundry, vacuum, scrub floors and pretty much anything else I do. Dishes she rinces and I wash. Laundry she “helps” me fold and I refold lol but hey it is worth it and one day she will have learned and actually be a big help. Vacuuming she use to get her rolling duck and pretend to help me. Now she has one of those little play vacuums that she LOVES. She will get on hands and knees and scrub the floor cleaner than I will lol. She loves to wash windows and mirrors. She is thrilled when I say lets organize something or we go through and clean her room or closet. Its not really work to her to her it is time spent together. When she isn’t competing for my attention. She loves to help and I love that she wants too. I figure I better appreciate all of this now because all to soon she will roll her eyes if I ask her to do something.
My 5 year-old son loves to help. We are currently packing to move, and he has been a big help in “packing” his room. Sure, he only puts a few items in a box, but they’re small boxes, so I don’t make a fuss about them. He also writes his name on the boxes and stacks them with the rest of that are ready.
My children are older and no longer find it “fun” to clean with me. So when it’s time to pick up, one of us picks a song to sing and we all join in. Then we try to finish our pick up before the song ends. Sometimes we have to repeat or make up new verses (lol), but we just try to beat our time in the next room.
Our boys love to help clean the floors. We get a bucket and some rags out for them, fill it with warm soapy water, and they practice “skating” around with bare feet! They love it.
I grew up helping my mom with the laundry in the days before everyone had dryers. My mom would say”hand me something yellow” or “I need 5 more clothes pins”. It was her sneaky way of keeping me occupied and a way to teach me colors and numbers. As I learned the basic colors she expanded it to chiffon lemon or army green or sky blue. I not only learned colors but how to observe the world around me. I knew more math than anyone in my kindergarten class. I even knew addition and subtraction…..all from just doing laundry with my Mom. I did the same with my kids,No they don’t like doing chores(they’re teenagers) but they are continuely amazed at how unobservant their friends are!!!
Such a great way to not only have more fun – but spend some precious time with your children too. And isn’t it wonderful to see the innocence of finding laughter and learning in a simple chore? Everything is more fun with a friend!
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