I know other people manage to do things like clean their bathrooms while their kids are awake.
And I do manage it, but it's a bit of a fiasco if I try to do it when both of my kids (4 and 2) are around. I'm sure there must be others who do a better job than I do.
Today, for example, they took turns reasonably well spraying cleaner onto the various surfaces in the room and sort of mopping it up with rags. They required a bit of intervention from me to enforce reasonable turn-taking, but this did go OK for long enough for me to clean the sink and the window, the latter a fairly time-consuming task.
By the time I started cleaning the toilet, it had degenerated into spraying each other with the cleaner and wrapping each other up in the shower curtain, both of which caused complaining and, in the case of the shower curtain, nervousness on my part that they would tear it down. I suppose I could have draped the shower curtain up out of the way before we started, but they'd never done that before so I didn't think of it at the time.
Either of them individually is fine helping me clean the bathroom -- they stay reasonably on task and while they are not all that genuinely helpful, they at least do what I ask. So this is a task that is familiar to them, they understand what to do, and like doing it. It's the two of them together that make me want to tear my hair out!
Anyone have any suggestions on how I can better manage the interaction between them to make it possible for such chores to be accomplished with less frustration on my part? Or at least some comforting words on how old they will need to be before it's less of an issue?
And I do manage it, but it's a bit of a fiasco if I try to do it when both of my kids (4 and 2) are around. I'm sure there must be others who do a better job than I do.
Today, for example, they took turns reasonably well spraying cleaner onto the various surfaces in the room and sort of mopping it up with rags. They required a bit of intervention from me to enforce reasonable turn-taking, but this did go OK for long enough for me to clean the sink and the window, the latter a fairly time-consuming task.
By the time I started cleaning the toilet, it had degenerated into spraying each other with the cleaner and wrapping each other up in the shower curtain, both of which caused complaining and, in the case of the shower curtain, nervousness on my part that they would tear it down. I suppose I could have draped the shower curtain up out of the way before we started, but they'd never done that before so I didn't think of it at the time.
Either of them individually is fine helping me clean the bathroom -- they stay reasonably on task and while they are not all that genuinely helpful, they at least do what I ask. So this is a task that is familiar to them, they understand what to do, and like doing it. It's the two of them together that make me want to tear my hair out!
Anyone have any suggestions on how I can better manage the interaction between them to make it possible for such chores to be accomplished with less frustration on my part? Or at least some comforting words on how old they will need to be before it's less of an issue?
i certainly don't discourage cleaning of any kind, but there are some things that my 2yo shouldn't help me with. They all do pick up in the living room, wipe down the table/their chair, fold things according to ability, etc.
lol).
