3 Ways to Encourage Your Kids to Spring Clean
Spring cleaning is an annual task that almost everyone dreads. Fortunately, spring cleaning
can be the perfect time to help your kids develop a good work ethic and enlist extra hands
for the job.
Try these ideas to get your kids involved in your spring cleaning efforts and teach
them the importance of hard work:

1. Play an Easter Game. It would be rather cruel to enlist the help of your kids on
   Easter Sunday. However, you can use the day prior to Easter or the day after Easter to
   entice them into spring cleaning by playing an Easter themed game.
   • Hide a few chocolate Easter eggs under piles of clothes and shoe boxes in their closets
   and tell them that if they can neatly pass folded clothes to you to put into the storage
   bins, they’ll find several Easter chocolates to munch on.
   • To your kids, it will be an Easter egg hunt. To you, it’ll simply be a way to start a
   new spring cleaning tradition while creating a mutually beneficial situation
   for both you and your children. Ensure that all the candy is accounted for, lest you
   have a surprise during next year’s cleaning.
2. Be honest. Older children, especially teens, won’t be tempted by a few pieces of
   chocolate. Rather than dressing the day up as an Easter egg hunt, be honest. Tell the
   older kids that you need help getting some spring cleaning done and offer a fun
   ending to your busy day of cleaning.

• Offer to end the day by getting their choice of takeout and renting a movie
of their choosing. Not only will this give your family time to bond, but you’ll also get
some spring cleaning done. In all aspects, this is a winning situation!
• Refrain from approaching your teens the day of your spring cleaning. They may already
have plans. Approach them a few days in advance and set up a day that is convenient
for everyone involved.
• Older children can handle bigger tasks. It’s best to let them choose a task (from a
list that you’ve created) and tackle it on their own. By doing so, they’ll feel as if
they had a say in the task at hand.

3. Rewards. Kids of all ages respond well to rewards. As mentioned above, a piece of
   chocolate or a slice of pizza will help entice your kids into spring cleaning. However, a
   larger reward will have your kids jumping for joy on the day of your spring cleaning
   adventure.
   • Offer to purchase your child a game for their gaming system if they help you spring
   clean the house and keep their room clean for a month thereafter.
   • Sweeten the deal for yourself by offering them a subscription to GameFly, a game
   delivery service which operates much like Netflix. Offer the subscription in
   exchange for spring cleaning, and offer to keep the subscription active as
   long as their room is kept tidy and their chores are done.
   • A subscription to GameFly can cost as little as $5.95 per month. Younger kids may
   enjoy a subscription to Pogo.com (also $5.95 per month) or even a personal
   subscription to Netflix ($7.99 per month).
   Remember, there’s a difference between bribing and incentivizing. Incentivizing consists of
   providing a reward as motivation for completing a safe and beneficial task.

Kids respond tremendously well to all types of rewards and only you can judge what
rewards will properly motivate yours. Treat your kid to a reward and earn yourself an extra
set of hands for spring cleaning.