(Post by contributor, Dea Daniels)
This fall, I had to face a few hard facts:
1. Babies grow up {everyone tells you but it’s still tough to experience!}
2. These days are full-to-overflowing {Fitting into a paper schedule doesn’t mean it works!}
3. My house has not learned to clean itself {Um…wha…?!}
4. Parenting demands creativity {and humor and imagination!}
With these tough facts in mind, I set out to invite my big boys, ages five and three, to participate in keeping the home. {I shared more about the motivation and application of that choice here}.
We dove into this incentive one month ago. While daily challenges remain, and while our home still lives on the verge of barn-in-the-jungle, I am been blown away by the positive response these kiddos display…especially when it comes to scrubbing the toilets.
Our home hosts three porcelain thrones. One is brand new. One is questionable. And one has major issues. Each of the toilets is used by the four males in the home and is subject to the hard water of our town. All things considered, it’s a recipe for toilet terror!
But here’s the thing:
Kiddos {for the most part} appreciate a little poop talk, a bit of mud, the tease of boogers, and the thrill of an almost-risky-adventure.
And while no one relishes the thought of “Get to work! Do your chores! Participate in drudgery!” what five-year old can resist the idea of brandishing sword and wand and potion and attacking…toilet aliens?
Yes, ahem,
Toilet. Aliens.
With those two words I broke through the complaining-kiddo-code and entered the realm of, “Mama, is it chore time yet???”
On Toilet Alien Day, the boys hover and jump while they watch me prepare the ‘potion’ {a container of baking soda, citric acid, and essential oils of citrus and tea tree, as well as squirt bottles of vinegar}.
They take off to their chosen toilets, arguing about who gets to do the third one and usually deciding upon a dual-attack. Brandishing ‘swords’ and sprinkling powder and squirting vinegar, they laugh and shout and scrub those bowls cleaner than any ceramic in the house!
Usually, they follow up with a thorough wipe down of the entire toilet and surrounding floor, just to ensure that no aliens escaped. With grins and pride, they wash their hands, tuck away the scrub brushes, and declare the bathrooms safe for another day.
I love it!
Why does this work?
How could it be possible for teeny kiddos to actually enjoy the most disdained of chores?
- Everyone loves a story
- Life is an adventure
- Work is necessary but needn’t be drudgery
- When we invite our children into the adventure of protecting the home, they are affirmed and feel the joy and thrill of participation and responsibility!
I encourage you to try this out. Maybe aliens aren’t your thing, but there are other ways to invite the family into a joyful participation. As we approach our homes as places of safety, happiness, and joyful-order, every member can find pleasure in contributing to the rhythm of the home.
LauraBeth
I absolutely *LOVE* this idea! I was just talking to my mom the other day about how much harder it is to train the children to do these things themselves than it is to just do it myself! 🙂 I totally agree with you, though, it’s important to invest the effort. I was working on a post about our new laundry system when I saw your post. My son would love your idea, so we will definitely be giving it a try soon! Thanks!
Janelle
We fight our hard water daily, does the citric acid in the cleaning solution help combat it?
Dea
Yes, I believe it really helps with the hard water build up!
When we purhased this house, we thought we’d have to throw one of the toilets out due to the excess of mineral build-up. Now, with weekly use of this system (and very eager toilet scrubbers!) it is fresh, shiny, and has no signs of buildup!
(also, citric acid is now available at several pharmacies, as well as mail order like Mountain Rose and New Directions)
Kathleen | Becoming Peculiar
Wow! So creative! I want my daughter (currently 2) to be actively involved in caring for the home, too. This inspires me to be imaginative!
Dea
Awesome! Go for it! Children love to participate and she’ll be excited to be a part of the rhythm of the home 🙂
Marissa
So fun! My girls both love washing the toilet; they get to use the scrubber and spray bottle so what could be better. I should introduce them to a toilet monster though since they are really enjoying monsters of late. It’s true that at the beginning, cleaning with tinies is more mess then cleaning but so quickly, I’ve found it to be helpful. My girls at five and four are totally able to do adequate jobs of sweeping and washing floors as well as cleaning bathrooms. And their pleasure at contributing is always encouraging for me to remember to do my own work with cheerfulness.
Dea
So true! Observing their honest cheer is so inspiring!
Stephanie Adkins
Lovely kids. They look so cute while trying to do their chores but it seems though that they will be causing more havoc instead. You did a good job though to train them while they are still young for them to gain a sense of independence.
Dea
Well, true…for a bit. Involving them takes more time, at first. But I also made a chore chart for me so that I’m working with them. I find that the sense of rhythm and teamship has been markedly LESS chaotic than trying to run about getting things done myself. There’s a certain sense of order and unity that comes with us all working together towards a common good. I expect it can only get better in the years to come!
Beth
I agree, Dea – it really seems like now is the training time, the investment time, and if they are used to helping with chores now… it’ll be second nature when they’re older (and much more helpful). That’ll certainly tip the scales, I think.