What do your kids do while you...

[happyday8598]

clean your house?

I have to vacuum, wash dishes, clean the toy room, wipe down my counter, clean my bedroom, cook, etc etc DAILY... somethings multiple times during the day...

I can't be the only person who cleans (etc) every day...

I don't want them to watch TV while I do these things, but at 2 and 4, I don't know what else they would want to do (that wouldn't make ANOTHER large mess for me to clean)...

What do you lovely ladies do with your children, or what do the children do with themselves, while you take care of daily chores around the house, and for yourself???

Utterly Confused,
Emily

[3boys4us]

I leave it - until people go to bed (around here about 8:30). Otherwise I do little bits here and there. Our house is always "lived in" so I never expect to have a spotless home.

[Irishmommy]

Put them to work. They are old enough to wipe down tables and chairs, to sweep, put away toys, etc. Not all at once, of course, : , but my dfs2 (4yo) washed my kitchen table for me today, and did a great job. Dd2 (2.5 yo) vacuums if I shorten the pipe part. Of course, sometimes it just keeps them occupied and supervised while I do the real stuff!!

[MamaOui]

My 2.5 year old *helps* me cook. He has his own kid sized broom that he uses while I Swiffer. Mostly I just get up really early and I do the bulk of my work before the kids get up. I do some of it when dh gets home from work. I save the major cleaning for Saturday mornings (once every other week). I vacuum when my dh is home.

Ds#1 helps me with toy clean up.

I fold laundry while the kids play in the living room.

I empty the dishwasher/ do the dishes when the boys are eating lunch.

[mcimom]

vacuum-
the baby always quiets to the vacuum, the older girls play a game I started where I pretend I'm going to get them and they scream and jump on the couch (keeps them up out of the way and not making messes)

wash dishes-
the baby sits in her bouncy on the counter (I try to load and unload the dishwasher in the a.m. while she's in a happy mood to just look about) and I admit, DD1 and 2 watch T.V. in the a.m. first thing

clean the toy room-
my girls always have to clean whatever room we leave w/me. that way there is only one room in total chaos at a time.

wipe down my counter-
I let DD1 and 2 help wipe things up w/their own papertowel or washcloth or wipe

clean my bedroom-
I do it when they're in bed (we co-sleep in our house about 3-5am when DD1 and 3 join me in my room )

cook-
baby sits in her bouncy on the kitchen counter or the swing and DD1 and 2 either "help" (stirring, sprinkling cheese, etc.) or sit at the kitchen table coloring or snacking while I cook.

[Solange]

Ds (33 months)joins me in the fun...lol..we sing a song called "dust dust dust" we got from kindermusik and make laundry a learning experience by having him sort by color and match up socks....
he loves to help do dishes and is really a joy to have help even though it make take us all day to clean....
Cherish these young days while I can....

[YiddisheMama]

b'h

dd2 (3 months) is either in the sling or the swing, depending on what i'm doing. dd1 (2 1/2 years) is helping me! she'll open the dryer door, i'll pass her stuff from the washer, and she'll put it in. she'll take from the dryer into the basket. when we vacuum she holds the cord etc.....

she washes dishes (i.e. the whole kitchen)...sweeps, she's got her own child size mop - was a gift, and she likes helping mommy. often it's more a hinderance than a help, but this is how they learn.

[momea]

make more mess

[DiaperDiva]

Kailey usually plays in her playroom or follows me around while I tidy up. I have started a new trend of picking things up as I see them misplacecd. It has worked like a charm and my house has not needed to be cleaned for a week. The dishes are done right after each meal so there is rarely any heavy washing to do. Laundry gets washed when one of the baskets is full, toys get picked up throughout the day as I see them lying around. The only room that doesn't get his is the playroom. It gets done at the end of the day

Kailey loves to help me make the bed, and sometimes she gets interested enough to help me clean the rest of the house.

[Lady of Z Lake]

Clean? What does that mean?

OK, just kidding, kind of. I can't say my house is dirty, but I don't do much to it. I had cleaning ladies until last week when I canceled so I can put that money towards staying at home FT. I just do it in VERY small chunks. And I usually wait for dh to be home.

[Liz]

Saturday morning one of us (dh or me) takes ds to the playground while the other cleans the house. If this doesn't happen, I can get some vacuaming done with ds around. We take turns vacuuming or he rides the vacuam canister. DH cleans up toys and the kitchen at night while I put ds to bed. DS cleans up his own toys if he wants to get some other big toy out (he puts away the train set in order to take out the Lego, for example). I clean the bathroom while he's in the tub. It's always a work in progress, never that shiny perfect home you see in magazines. That's reality!

[Evergreen]

Hi Emily from another Emily!
First of all I wait till the baby is asleep, shes only 5 weeks old, so that is pretty often. If theres something that needs done while she is awake (shes alwaysup when it is time to cook and eat dinner) she goes in her bouncy chair or watches her mobile (both of which she loves, but I feel like I am neglecting her) My other daughter is 3.5 and she can be a handful, but she does play pretty well by herself and she is learning to read so books and paper/crayons always keep her occupied for a while) Or she helps me clean. when I vaccum the dining room, I move all of the chairs into the kitchen double file and she pretends she is on a train. We don't have a TV so sometimes I find myself wishing I could just pop a movie in for her, but I think bc of lack of TV, she has become better at entertaining herself.

[USAmma]

If I get one room a day clean, then I've met my goal. I don't worry about from 2 year old level down looks like. If there are new smears on the glass or new crumbs on the floor after I've cleaned that's okay. It's like shoveling show during a blizzard-- it doesn't look like you are doing much until you stop cleaning-- and then it really piles up!

Darshani

[FreeRangeMama]

Ds has always been a great help. I wore him in a sling or backpack until he was old enough to want to help (around 8 months when he started crawling). He is now almost 2 and quite good at cleaning. I wash dishes and he rinses, then I rinse and he stacks them in the dishrack. He vaccuums the living room by himself (I am not allowed to help) then I give it a quick once-over when he is finished to get what he missed. I fold laundry and direct him to the drawer it belongs in (only opening one at a time so I can actually find things when I need them LOL). He loves to help me scrub the tub and clean the windows and mirrors (I make all our own cleaners so its safe). He even begs to wash dishes at Grandma's house LOL. I hope that getting in the habit while young will carry over as he grows!
Laurie

[kimmysue2]

My son is right there with me. He LOVES the vacuum cleaner. He would so push it if he was bigger. He will chase it while I vacuum sometimes it hard since I have to be careful not to run over his fingers. Heck if there was a set on it he would ride it.
He loves taken and putting dishes in the dish wash (doubt when he is a teenager). Right there to watch the toilet being cleaned. Of coarse the bath has all that running water to play with while cleaning.
Now if only I can get him to LOVE laundry since its my most hatest chore.

[chellemarie]

My kids are 8.5, 5 and 3 weeks. If they're not outside playing, they help or get sent to the basement where all their toys are.

I really should take the time to show the oldest how to clean the bathroom. It's one thing I'd like to clean 2x a week and never manage to. If he could do it once (even not-so-great), I could live with me doing it once.

He can sweep and push the vacuum though I don't expect a great job or for him to move furniture. We don't have a hamper and the laundry baskets are always full of CLEAN clothes (that's one thing I let slide...I don't know why the hell we have dressers) so he takes dirty laundry downstairs for me.

I've also had him wash walls and the kitchen chairs.

DH can't fold clothes, but he can change loads of laundry for me.

I know DD (5yo) could do more...I just haven't shown her. She could dust and she can pick things up. She can help wipe off cupboards. She does the low ones and DS1 does the high ones.

But I don't do things daily. I WOH and they're usually at daycare so it doesn't get messy enough to do things every day...and if it somehow does, it doesn't matter. None of us will be home tomorrow anyway!

The state of my house during maternity leave is nearly killing me, though. I wish I had $ for someone to come clean a couple times before I go back to work.

[lilyka]

dds have to either help out or go play somewhere where I am not and have not already cleaned.

[Pigpen]

They'll help when possible. When I want to do some heavy duty cleaning, I'll just set them up at the table with art supplies, and do my thing. Of course I have that mess to clean up, but it's worth it and it's more centralized.

[mamaduck]

Another vote for involving the kids. It makes it harder to do, and takes longer. But it pays off. I now have a 6 year old child who can complete any chore independantly, enthusiastically and more thoroughly than his father. (I guess that isn't saying much! : ) But he is a big help now, and I'm glad that I inovlved him.

The younger one is in the "helping" stage now. He especially likes to "mop."

[Embee]

DS is used to the fact that mommy is a little OCD with the cleaning. Like you, I also clean everyday. Whenever he likes, DS joins in. He loves vacuuming along side me with his popper and sometimes even grabs the big vacuum for himself and does a pretty decent (if not slow ) job! He also helps me dust, do dishes (the rinsing and racking end), put away laundry, and cook--especially likes to pour the ingredients in for making bread and goodies...

So this is how most days go. Somedays, he's not in the mood to help but it's usually because he's engrossed in something else--his trucks, his farm, etc. If need to tackle something alone, I usually tell him so and then give him two choices of activities, he's usually pretty good about it. I do find that by making sure to spend some good solid one on one time with him each day, that allows some time for me to get things done--either with his help or not.

From as early on as I could (about a year, walking), I tried not to get into the habit of doing all the cleaning myself. I truly feel that one job a parent has is to teach our kids how to take care of themselves... learning things about the house is as good a place to start as I can think of.

A note: There are some days when DS needs my full attention; if he's not feeling well, teething or just needing me. On those days, I try to put aside the clean house and just focus on him. Once, he's beyond whatever it is that's ailing him, I get back to the usual routine. I've found through trial and error that pushing on at his emotional expense is not worth it and hard on us both.

Best of luck!