Forget what Miss Manners once said and start encouraging your kids to talk while they eat (after they swallow, of course)!  Dinnertime is the perfect time to hear about their day, their opinions, and what’s going on in their little heads.  Get past the one word answers and make your kids give you a mouthful of conversation.  While getting to know your kids on a deeper level, you’ll also be giving them practice at thinking quickly, forming arguments and opinions, and expressing their thoughts.

Simple conversation starters will get the ball rolling and before you know it, your kids will be bringing a lot more to the table than hungry bellies.  Try some of these conversation starters or make up your own:

• What was the __________ (choose one: funniest . . . most surprising . . . most predictable . . . dullest) thing that happened to you today?
• If you were writing a newspaper article about your day, what would be the headline?
• Teach us one thing that you learned today that you think we don’t know yet.
• If you had one hour alone with the President of the U.S., what would you want to discuss or talk about?
• Which cartoon character would you most like to have as a next door neighbor?  Why?
• If you won the lottery (or won $100) what is the first thing you would buy?
• Imagine you had an identical twin; name three things that would be really great about having an identical twin and three things that would be “not so great.”
• Which fairy tale character would you most like to take a vacation with?  Why?
• If you were a plant and could be planted anywhere in the world, what kind of plant would you be?  Where would you like to be planted and grow?
• If you could go on a vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go?
• If the sky suddenly started to rain candy, what candy would you want it to rain?
• If you were to take a time machine 50 years into the future, what do you think life will be like?  What will you do with your free time?  How do you think people will communicate or prepare food?
• What kind of car would you say you are most like?  If you could be any car, which one would you choose?
• If you could invite any famous person to your birthday party, who would it be?  Why?
• If you could create a national chain of restaurants designed for kids, what would you call it?  What kinds of food would you serve?  What would the theme of the restaurant be?
• If you had to choose one modern convenience, appliance, or technology that you just couldn’t live without, what would it be?
• What was the best birthday party you remember having?  Tell what you remember about it.
• Where will you be, and what do you think you will be doing in 10 -15 years?
• If you had a choice, would you rather live in the city or the country?  Why?
• If you could be a TV producer, what would be the name of your new show?  Who would you get to star in it?  What would your show be about?
• In the movie about your life, what actor would play you? Your best friend? Your family members?

Another way to get the table talk going is to play a little game.  President Obama plays a game with his family called “Roses and Thorns.”  Everyone takes a turn describing a good thing that happened that day (rose) and a low moment or tough problem they had to deal with (thorn) during the day.  Whatever the approach, set your dinner table with conversation to strengthen relationships and make memories to last a lifetime.

Tell Your Buddies to Set the Table!

Christmas lights, Hanukkah menorahs, the Kwanzaa Kinara…the holidays are full of symbols that represent a variety of cultures, beliefs, and traditions, making this the most wonderful time of year to help your little ones notice that not everyone celebrates the season the same way they do.

Oftentimes limited experiences and infrequent interactions with backgrounds different from their own lead kids to make assumptions or judge others who do things differently than they’re used to.  You can make the season even brighter by helping your kids realize that our society is a mixture of people- no two the same.  All of these differences bring new ideas, energy, and flavor, enriching the world we live in.

Many kids are way ahead of us when it comes to acknowledging and respecting differences.  Playgrounds, play groups, and classrooms are increasingly diverse, and we as a society have become more aware of tolerating and embracing a variety of cultures, traditions, and beliefs.

Still, as parents, it’s our job to ensure our kids are prepared to live, learn, and work in a diverse world.  Teaching tolerance is important not just because it is the principle our country was founded on, but because the child who learns to be open to differences will have more opportunities in life.

Like all attitudes, tolerance is often taught in subtle ways when we don’t even realize it.  Even before they can speak, our kids watch us closely and imitate what they see.  Modeling tolerance, respect, and acceptance early on can help set your child up to positively embrace differences.  There are a variety of other things you can do at home to help your kids realize that being unique and different is good.

• Encourage your kids to ask questions – Kids are naturally curious about the world around them. Instead of letting them reach their own conclusions or assume things, make sure your kids ask questions when they wonder about things.  Many times a simple question can spark valuable conversation and learning for both you and your little questioners.
• Answer questions – When your kids come to you questioning their own traditions or the values and beliefs of others, take the time to listen.  Spend time learning, researching, and exploring other cultures together. Attend festivals and events around town to expose your family to new celebrations and practices.
• Respect and honesty – Model respect and acceptance for your kids.  Teach your kids to appreciate their own differences and those of others. Be sure the words you use are not offensive and do not convey judgment.  Help your kids realize that every person deserves to be judged as an individual, not grouped in a category that’s based on religious beliefs, skin color, or cultural differences.
• Learn together about other cultures and traditions that are different from your own.  Honor your own family and teach your children to be proud of their traditions.  Discuss how your family traditions began and what they mean to you and your ancestors.
• Make sure your kids have a positive self image and strong self-esteem.  Confidence and self-respect lead to respecting others.  Also, a strong sense of self will help your kids be proud of who they are and where they come from, so they can help share their culture and experiences with others.
• Give your kids opportunities to play and interact with others who are different from them.
• Help your kids understand that images and dialogue they see and hear in the media are often biased and do not represent an entire group of people.

Of course, celebrating differences of others doesn’t mean giving up your own heritage. Your family may have its own long-standing cultural and religious traditions that are something to be proud of.  You can find ways to celebrate differences of others while continuing to honor and pass down your own cultural heritage and traditions.  May this holiday season be a joyous celebration of the diversity around you.

Here’s how you do it!

First, answer your favorite 25 questions from the list below with your family.  Using a stack of flashcards, write the question on one side, and the answer on the other.  For example: One side of the card will say “ What is Frankie’s favorite food?” and the other side will say “ Cheese pizza”.   This is your chance to be creative, so feel free to add any other questions you think your family would enjoy answering.  The idea is that it is a trivia game centered around your family, so they don’t necessarily need to be challenging questions, just fun ones.  Print out your pint-sized game board and get ready to play!

The Rules of the game:

1. Start out with one die.  Each person takes turns rolling the die and the person with the highest roll starts the game off and the order follows numerically.
2. Each person can choose a different type of coin to be their marker on the game board
3. The first player rolls the die to see how many spaces they can potentially move and picks an index card from the top of the stack ( without looking at the answer).  They must read the question aloud so everyone can hear.  They have at most 2 minutes to answer the question.  Once they select the answer, another player flips the card over and verifies if it is correct or not.  If the answer is right, the player moves the amount of spaces they rolled.  If they are incorrect, they stay where they are.
4. The game proceeds in this way until someone reaches the end.
5. You will notice that there are character faces on the board.  If you land on one and get the answer correct, you get to double the amount of spaces you move.
6. If you land on a mud puddle, you are stuck there until you answer two consecutive questions correctly.

Questions for the All About Me!  Board Game

*Make sure each question is specific to a certain person – ie, Frankie’s favorite color or Mom’s favorite book.  This way, the answers are not debatable during the game*

1. What is NAME’s favorite color?
2. What is mom’s favorite color?
3. What is dad’s favorite color?
4. How many people are in your immediate family?
5. What is your telephone number?
6. What is mom’s cell phone number?
7. What is dad’s cell phone number?
8. What is your address?
9. What number do you call in case of an emergency?
10. What school do you go to?
11. What is NAME’s favorite thing to eat?
12. What is mom’s favorite thing to eat?
13. What is dad’s favorite thing to eat?
14. What is your brother/ sister’s favorite thing to eat?
15. What is NAME’s middle name?
16. What is your mom/dad/ brother/ sister’s middle name?
17. What is dad’s job?
18. What is mom’s job?
19. When is NAME’s birthday?
20. What state do you live in?
21. How old is your pet?
22. How long have you had your pet?
23. What do you do in an earthquake?
24. What do you do if the fire alarm goes off?
25. Who is NAME’s teacher?
26. What grade is NAME in?
27. What grade is your brother/ sister in?
28. How old is your brother/sister?
29. What is NAME’s favorite book?
30. What is mom/dad/brother/sister’s favorite book?

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Take Out the Monsters and the Trash

This creative way to get rid of the monster beneath your child’s bed is one of our favorites. Grab a plastic garbage bag and, to make this activity even more believable, some rubber gloves. Now go into your kid’s bedroom and show that monster whose boss. Check under and in all of the usual hiding places of the particular punk. Every place you look, make sure to grab the monster by the foot and shove it into the bag and seal it shut. Once you’ve combed through the room, have your children watch as you take the bag out to the trash and dump all the monsters in the garbage!

Monster-B-Gone

A previous JumpStart blog post about bedtime routines mentioned inventing a simple repellent to get rid of that spooky monster. Inform your child that this spray works a lot like bug spray. This spray can be something as simple as water, or you can even get some scented spray from the store and create your own label for the bottle. Have your child go around the room and spray the repellent in the monsters’ favorite hiding spots before you turn the lights out.

The Shield

You know that light switch in your house that isn’t connected to anything? Well, truth be told, it actually is attached to The Shield. Once this light switch is turned on, an imaginary force field forms around your entire house or apartment. This magic bubble keeps all bad guys and nighttime creatures outside and away from your house. Make this switch a nightly routine for you and your child. Before you brush their teeth and tuck them in, go over to the light switch and have your child turn The Shield on.

Monster Heroes

Monster Heroes can be anything from your child’s favorite stuffed bear to a drawing that your child creates. We suggest going to a fabric store and buying bits of different colored felt. You can create little characters with capes and hang them from the bed frame, along the closet door, and even on the window sill. These little heroes will help protect your child from the horrible creatures that terrorize them at night.

We hope these simple and fun activities will help your child fight off those monsters and have peaceful, restful nights. Not only will they be more energetic and happy, but you, too, will have enough energy to keep up with them!

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By secretly putting a note in your child’s lunchbox, you are doing so much more than simply reminding them that you care.  You are encouraging your child to read while filling the school day with encouragement.  Lunchbox notes are fun, educational, positive, and motivational!
Feel free to print either of the examples below, or to doodle your own (I always found that writing on a napkin worked great).

Lunchtime Learning

Sandwich Sayings

Another fun way to encourage reading is by writing a few words across their banana before packing it in your child’s lunchbox.  It’s simple! A banana peel bruises very easily, so all you have to do is use your fingernail to scratch a message across the peel.  Your message won’t show up right away, but by the time your child has lunch, the area you marked will be dark brown.  It’s a creative way to encourage your child to read while putting a smile on his or her face.  Your child’s lunchbox will never be the same again!

Banana Blabber

But all is not lost! Fortunately, summertime means fruit is in the air… er… the grocery stores, and that makes for endless possibilities. Here are a couple ideas for some quick and delicious, fresh-fruit snacks you and your kids will love!

Warning: Many of the snacks below involve some level of mess factor, so be sure to use bibs and paper towels… and you might want to put bibs on your kids, as well J

• Peanut Butter, Banana, and Honey on Toast: Toast a slice of whole-wheat bread, spread on a thin layer of peanut butter, slice up half a banana on top, and then drizzle on a little bit of honey. You can give it to your kids open-faced or as a sandwich. Either way, it’s delicious!
• Apples and Honey: I’m often surprised by how few people have tried this. Slice up an apple into four to six pieces, then pour a little honey on a plate. Dip and enjoy!
• Banana, Peanut Butter, and Ovaltine: Put a dollop of peanut butter (a tablespoon should be plenty) on a plate, and one or two spoonfuls of Ovaltine powder next to it. You’re kids can then dip a banana in the peanut butter and Ovaltine for a delicious, protein-rich snack. Note: Ovaltine is surprisingly low in calories, and makes for great chocolate milk, too!
• Strawberries, Yogurt, and Brown Sugar: This is a slightly healthier twist on strawberries, sour cream, and brown sugar. Just replace the sour cream with a little low-fat vanilla yogurt. If you are, by chance, not familiar with this delightful snack, here’s how you do it: Wash some strawberries (and cut them up if your kids are very young), put a dollop of low fat yogurt on a plate, and a little pile of brown sugar next to it. You’re kids will love dipping and munching the strawberries, and will particularly love taking a spoon to the mix of yogurt and brown sugar left on the plate when the strawberries are gone.
• Easy and Yummy Fruit Salad: Chop up any kinds of fruit you have in the house: bananas, apples, melons, grapes, etc. Mix them up with a good amount of low-fat vanilla yogurt, and sprinkle in a little brown sugar until it tastes just right. You can also play with adding a couple drops of vanilla extract or cinnamon.
• Banana Split: This is a fun dessert for your family to enjoy. Either slice a banana, or use a whole one. Mix a couple tablespoons of Ovaltine with a tiny tiny tiny bit of milk or water to make a rich chocolate sauce. Drizzle this over the banana. Then add a little whip cream, sprinkle some powdered Ovaltine over the top, and voila! You’ve got an instant, classy, and best of all (don’t worry, we won’t tell your kids) healthy dessert.

Stories are a treat for your child, and a great opportunity to spark a lifelong love of learning! By sharing books and tales with your child everyday, you can help build imagination, creativity and more. To get your child started on an adventure in reading and storytelling, try these handy tricks:

• Correspondence Captain – Help your child learn about storytelling by drafting an email to a favorite relative together. Have your child dictate a tale about something he did that day or create an imaginary story on his own, then read the response together. Your relatives will love hearing from your child and you are sure to get some fun responses!
• Sidewalk Stories – Stories don’t necessarily have to be told with written words. Take advantage of the spring weather to prove this point with some sidewalk chalk. Work with your child to design a mural or series of pictures, then ask your child to tell the story he has illustrated. To make the story immortal, take a photo of the sidewalk art, print it, then help your child write his tale down.
• Act It Out- You know that all-time favorite book your child reads over and over? Make the story even more real by acting it out with your child. Use your imaginations to dream up a set and costumes using items around your house and then bring the tale to life with a performance for the family.
• Library Love- Turn a library visit into a big event! If you treat library trips as exciting excursions (just like going to the movies), your enthusiasm is bound to rub off on your child. Make sure your child knows the layout of the library and work together to find and check out fun, age-appropriate books. Once your child is old enough, get him a library card of his very own, and celebrate the occasion! Also, be sure to check out special events at your local library – many hold weekly puppet shows, book readings and the like for kids.
• Reading Role Models- Kids love to try out things that they see parents and siblings enjoying, so be sure to set a good reading example! Let your child catch you reading to show that even grown-ups like a good story. Hunt for your own favorite childhood books and share these with your youngster. You can even consider scheduling reading time with your child – a few minutes each day where you sit down together and each read your own book quietly.
• Book Buff – Start a chart or wall where you can keep track of books you and your child read together. For some added fun, have your child draw a picture of each story read so you can have a collection of story memories. Choose prizes for certain milestones in your reading journey – maybe a trip to the movies when you reach 25 books – so that your child has motivation to keep up the reading.

Teachers appreciate when parents are concerned and interested in their child’s successes, challenges, and academic progress. Although teachers are busy, an involved parent makes their job so much easier. You can build rapport and create a partnership with your child’s teacher by taking a few simple steps:

• Take the Initiative: At the beginning of the school year, make it a point to introduce yourself to your child’s teacher while expressing your interest in developing consistent and open communication. Learn about the teacher’s expectations, procedures, and policies. Be sure the teacher knows how to contact you and you know the best way to contact him or her. Ask for recommendations on how to supplement learning at home. Taking the initiative to form this relationship will show the teacher and your child how much you value education and how important learning is to you.
• Be Available: Even if you can’t be present during the school day, you can still be directly involved in your child’s education. Be available for your child’s teacher to contact you via email or cell phone. Write notes to the teacher and make it a priority to be available if something comes up during the school day. Being available after school hours to listen to your child’s highlights of the day is also important to keep you in the loop about what’s going on at school. It’s also important to monitor your child’s homework habits and ensure that learning doesn’t stop after the school bell rings.
• Get Involved: If your child’s school sponsors a parent/teacher organization like the PTA or the PTO, be sure to get involved in some way. Attending meetings and other school sponsored events offers you the opportunity to develop good relationships with other parents and members of the school staff. Make it a point to go to parent/teacher conferences, school open houses, and other events to show your support and stay involved. If you are fortunate enough to have the time, volunteer to help out in your child’s classroom every once in a while. Depending on your schedule and interest, you could help with classroom parties, field trips, or special projects. There are also many opportunities for working parents to get involved by helping out in the evenings. Fundraisers, school carnivals, and extra-curricular activities all need parental assistance in the planning process.
• Show Your Gratitude: Teaching is an enormous job involving multiple responsibilities and tasks. Teachers rarely get the recognition they deserve. Be sure your child’s teacher knows how much you appreciate all of the time she puts into her profession for the well-being and future of your child. Letting your kids’ teachers know that their efforts do not go unnoticed will mean a lot to them.
• Form a Partnership: Teachers are specially trained and spend hours helping children to advance, both academically and socially. Because of this, a teacher can often offer insight on a child’s progress that we as parents may not otherwise have. Take advantage of this objective observation and use the information that your children’s teachers provide to help your children develop their unique talents to the fullest. Typically, parents do not get to observe their children in an organized learning environment, but teachers will happily talk with interested parents about their individual situation. Let teachers know that you welcome and appreciate their input. This is an invaluable partnership that will have a positive lifelong effect on your child.
• Regular Communication: Although most schools offer regularly scheduled parent/teacher conferences a few times a year, it’s a good idea to keep in touch with your child’s teacher between these conferences. If you have concerns regarding your child’s behavior or academic progress, it might be useful to request an additional meeting with the teacher. Or, if it’s a smaller issue, sending a note with your child or a quick email is always a good idea. Don’t wait for the next scheduled school-wide conferences to contact the teacher, it may be too late. Some parents have found great success in using a notebook to house an ongoing conversation with the teacher. Carried to and from school by your child, this is an excellent way to give and receive daily updates about your child.

When your child knows his education is a priority to you, he will take it more seriously as well. Staying involved throughout while your child is in school is an invaluable resource for your child and his teacher.

For more information on how you can build the parent-teacher relationship, click here.

look familiar?

Preventative Practices: Try these techniques to avoid emotional eruptions…

• Avoid Stressful Situations- Tantrums come as a response to a given situation. Although they are often a result of frustration, tantrums can also occur when a child gets overwhelmed or stressed. Avoiding stressful activities when your child is tired, hungry, or not feeling well is the first step to decreasing the emotional eruptions. Also, packing a day full of busy activities and commotion without a quiet break is a surefire way to fuel a fit.
• Give Choices- Here’s a strategy where no one loses because no one appears to have complete power or control. By offering your child a collection of parent-approved options, he will feel some control in the situation because he’ll have a say in his fate by selecting the choice that best suits him. His quest for independence will be met and you’ll be approaching a fit-free day. Make sure your options are realistic and clear so your child understands that there’s a choice to be made without negotiation or compromise.
• Allow for Transition Time- Giving your child a fair warning before an activity begins or ends will allow her time to process the transition. She won’t be caught by surprise when the new activity commences.
• Find a Distraction- Take advantage of your child’s short attention span by distracting him from the fit he’s about to throw. When you see him beginning to lose it, distract him and turn his attention elsewhere before he blows his lid.
• Teach Verbal Skills- Enhancing your child’s communication skills starts with you. By listening to your child as she’s in the midst of a tantrum, you can give her words to represent her emotions. For example, when you respond to your child’s outrage and frustration by saying, “I know you’re angry,” or “I know you’re feeling frustrated right now,” you give her the language to represent the cries. In the future, your child can use these words to express herself rather than cries and screams.
• Prepare your Child for the Day’s Events- Kids find comfort in routines. If you can stick with a routine as much as possible, your days will be brighter and your child’s tantrums will be fewer. When your schedule changes, it’s a good idea to talk about these changes with your child before they happen. For some children, tantrums will taper off when they know what to expect.
• Pay Attention to your Child- For a kid, negative attention is better than no attention at all. When your child is feeling a need for attention, she’ll do anything she can to get attention- of any kind. Ensuring that you’re giving her plenty of positive attention for the things she’s doing well will give her her fill of attention and she won’t feel the need to throw a fit in an effort to get attention.
• Be Reasonable- Put yourself in your kid’s shoes and consider what it would be like tagging along on errands all day. Prevent your child from losing his cool by packing along snacks and fun activities to preoccupy him. It’s also a good idea to involve your kids in the things you’re doing. Let him help you put the groceries in the cart or push the button in the elevator. All of this will keep him so busy he won’t have time to even think about throwing a fit.

Tantrum Tactics: If a tantrum breaks out…

• Create a “Tantrum Time Out Spot”- Create a specific location in your home where tantrums can occur. Make sure your child is aware of this location and that it is a safe spot for her to spend time in- even when she’s angry. When a tantrum begins, escort your child to the “Tantrum Spot” and let her know you’re going to leave the room. When she’s through with her fit, she can come out of the room. Occupy yourself with other things and wait for your child to calm down. Do not let her leave the room until she has calmed down. She will quickly learn that a fit becomes so much less fun when there isn’t an audience.
• Follow Through- Make sure your words are firm and serious when you talk to your child during his tantrum. If you are in a public location and you tell him you are going to leave the toy store if he continues crying, DO IT! If your child sees your words have no meaning, he won’t take your seriously. His tears will continue until he breaks you down and gets what he wants.
• Consequences- Preparing consequences in advance will save you time and a headache when an outburst is brewing. Knowing what lies at the end of tantrum can prevent the cries from coming. If she knows she will lose a privilege or miss dessert, she may think twice before throwing her fit.
• Stay Calm- Adding your own frustration to a fit fiesta will only complicate the problem. Anger and aggravation often do not bring on the results we hope for. Someone needs to stay in control when your child is out of control. Stay calm and escort him to a calm place to cool down. Try to understand where your child is coming from and talk to her. Give her the words she is expressing through her emotions. Sometimes, all a child needs to know is that your care and you understand her outburst.
• Get Out of the Situation- If you are in a public location when your child loses it, get out of the situation as soon as possible. After one clear warning to stop the screams, grab your child by the hand and escort him out of the scene. Finding a calm and somewhat private location is always better than making a big scene in front of a huge audience. Give him time to cool off and ‘get it out.’ If he doesn’t stop after five minutes, head home where the tantrum consequences will ensue. Forgoing your plans once or twice might be a huge inconvenience, but the effect this has for the future is tremendous. When your child sees you mean business, it won’t take him long to learn other ways to express his emotions.
• Use it as a Teaching Tool- After the tears subside and the whimpering has waned, discuss what happened with your child. In this calm setting, both of you will be thinking more clearly. Teach your child how to match words with her emotions. Talk about what she can do the next time she’s put in the same situation.

As kids mature developmentally, communication skills increase and frustration levels decrease. Hopefully these techniques will help tame the tantrums in your life until then!

Need More Tips?: “Stop Temper Tantrums: How to Handle Toddler Meltdowns”

Here are a couple tips for getting your child involved in tidying up:

Set a Good Example
If you’re clean, you’ll be in a much better position to raise clean kids. You want to make sure they don’t grow up with clutter and get used to it. Try to limit the “Kitch” – items with limited sentimental value that clutter your shelves (little statues from drug stores, picture frames that you’ve never gotten around to putting pictures in, boxes that are too small to put anything in, etc.) Flylady.net is an excellent resource for getting your own cleaning habits on track.

Start ‘em Young
Even toddlers can start cleaning up their mess and helping around the house. Find tasks that are simple enough for them to accomplish without frustration, and then be sure to give them praise for a job well done. I still remember feeling so proud whenever Mom was folding laundry, and I got to fold all the towels.

Make it a Game
Cleaning time can be fun. You can hold a race to see who can put away the most toys the fastest. Or you could try setting up a fun story scenario: Maybe your child is on a pirate ship and has to “batten down the hatches” before a big storm comes, or maybe they’re Cinderella, and they have to take care of the chores before the ball. Just be sure to keep them on track, as they might very well get swept up in the story and want to flit off to play pretend rather than finishing the task at hand!

Rewards System
Rewards systems are a great way to get your kids excited about cleaning. A point system, where kids earn points for different chores, can be a great motivation. You can come up with fun and appropriate prizes for when they get to a certain number of points, like a trip to the movies, a theme park, or an ice cream cone. Be careful not to make the prizes too easy to get. You (and your wallet) will run into trouble if they get a Disneyland trip every time they do the dishes. Set different levels of prizes so that your kids get fairly regular smaller rewards, and can work toward bigger ones.

Limit Cleaning Time
Instead of sending your children to clean their room (where they will proceed to empty every drawer in order to “sort” it, and then promptly lose interest when they discover those old dinosaur toys they didn’t remember they had, and you come in half an hour later to find them sitting on a fresh pile of clutter making T-Rex and Triceratops fight to the death) try cutting the project down into bite-sized pieces. You can set a timer for 15, 10, or even 5 minutes of cleaning time, or pick one small area to get clean per day. You may well discover that more gets done and stays done when your child is cleaning a little bit every day, rather than a lot once in a while.

Be Firm and Consistent
Consistency is key in establishing good cleaning habits. Whenever your children eat a meal or have a drink, they should wash their dishes and throw away their trash. When they have dirty laundry, it should go straight in the hamper. When they come home from school, their backpack should be hung it its place and their shoes should go in the closet. It can be tough. Be patient but firm, and don’t let them get away with doing it “later”, because you’ve got a good bet that when they say “I’ll do it later, Mom” it means “I’ll put it off until you get so fed up that you do it yourself.”

Be Willing to Provide Supervision
Kids seem to have a much higher tolerance for mess than most adults. I can still remember numerous fights with my own mother, where she was telling me the bathroom counter was not clean, and I couldn’t see what on earth she was talking about. After all, I had pushed all the bottles back against the mirror so there were a few square inches of counter space! Understand that your kids may not see it the way you do, and you may need to work with them for a while until they fully realize what you’re looking for.

The overall goal is to establish habits. Cleaning should eventually be just a part of life, something that your whole family does on auto-pilot. “MY family?” you scoff, “Clean?” Yes, with some of the strategies above, you’ll be well on your way to having a cleaner home and a tidier family. Good luck!