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How to Teach Your Kids to Clean the Bathroom

Teaching your kids to do certain chores around the house is an important part of development. One of the dirtiest parts of the home is the bathroom. While nobody particularly loves this job it is still a good idea to show kiddos how to get this dirty job done. Here are some excellent tips to help teach your kids to clean the bathroom.

Teaching Kids to Clean the Bathroom

Getting kids involved with bathroom cleaning

Be a Role Model

dad-son-bathroom--Teach Your Kids to Clean the Bathroom
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The best thing any parent can do when teaching a child something new is to set a good example. Modeling cleaning habits will show them the best methods to get the job done.

Simply start the process by having your child assist you in your typical bathroom cleaning routine. You can ask them to spray or wipe countertops or tubs to help them feel more involved. Make sure that you first show them how to do it. Also encourage them to wear bathroom cleaning gloves so as not to hurt their hands.

By role modeling good cleaning techniques, they will learn the proper way to clean each area of the bathroom. Remember not to fuss over anything too much, as they will need to learn their own cleaning process. You do not want to deter them from wanting to help clean the bathroom in the future.

Explain the Products

There are many bathroom cleaning products on the market. This can make knowing what products to use on what areas of the bathroom confusing. This is especially true for young children.

Break down the different products when teaching children to clean the bathroom. Depending on your child’s age, you may not want to give them access to harsher cleaning products such as bleach, drain cleaners or ammonia. In fact, consider putting poison or warning stickers on the more dangerous products. When possible swap these products for more wholesome/organic ones that are safer to use.

Start small with tasks such as letting them squirt toilet bowl cleaner into the bowl. Or maybe sprinkling Ajax into the tub. Be sure to tell them why different products are used for different cleaning surfaces.

Make It Fun

Keeping things fun will keep your child interested in the cleaning process. While it is important for the job to get done right, cleaning doesn’t have to be boring. 

Create a chore chart that children can use to earn prizes or allowances with each completed bathroom cleaning task. 

Another idea to keep the process fun is to incorporate music. Sing favorite nursery rhymes in order to time how long to scrub bathroom areas. Practice counting while making passes over mirrors and countertops. 

Let kids help with picking out accent cleaning products such as air fresheners or scented sprays. Giving them a say will make them feel more independent and involved. This in return will make them more apt to help clean more in the future. 

Set Clear Boundaries

Break things down into simple language language that children can understand. You will have to change this for each age group of course, but explaining how and why each bathroom area needs to be cleaned will make things simpler. 

Don’t set higher expectations of your child than necessary. The whole point is to get them started on the cleaning process. This is best done in steps. Let them get more involved with cleaning the bathroom as they master each task. Like scaffolding, building on this process will help them reach the end result. In this case, it will be the ability to clean the entire bathroom by themselves. 

Teach Responsibility

cleaning-wipes Teach Your Kids to Clean the Bathroom

Via Squirrel_photos on Pixabay

Besides doing a full bathroom clean, it is a great idea to teach kiddos to pickup after themselves along the way. Maintaining a clean bathroom is done over time and not all at once. Show them where to put their dirty towels when they are done a tub or shower. Keep wet wipes in the bathroom so that they can wipe up any toothpaste mess after tooth brushing.

Be sure to explain how staying up on these small tasks will make the “deep clean” much easier for all involved. The fact is the dirtier the bathroom the more work it is. 

The goal is that by instilling these habits, children will learn that it is a good idea to clean as you go. 

Make It a Family Affair

Get the whole family involved with cleaning the bathroom! This will not only make the job get done quicker, but kids can learn a variety of ways to do the same job. We all have different ways of doing things, so letting them watch different adults clean the bathroom is a good thing. 

Working together as a team will also teach cooperation. Siblings can learn to work together to get a job for a common goal. If your kids share a bathroom, then it should be both of their responsibility to maintain the cleanliness of it. 

Don’t Be Discouraged

Cleaning the bathroom is nobody’s favorite part of keeping a clean house. However, it has to get done. It is imperative that as the parent you teach your kids that this chore isn’t as bad as most people think it is. 

While it may be like pulling teeth, don’t get discouraged if your child pushes back a bit on this learning process. Getting discouraged will help no one. In fact, if your child or teen sees that you don’t mind cleaning the bathroom they are less likely to exhibit unruly behaviors. Kids learn by example and the best thing you can do as their parent is to look at this chore as something that’s not so bad. 

If your child resists cleaning the bathroom at every turn, maybe consider getting them involved in other household chores. Alternatively, you can create a cyclical cleaning schedule so that one person is not always in charge of cleaning the bathroom. This can be done with a cleaning chore wheel or just assigning different chores during different times of the month.

How to Teach Your Kids to Clean the Bathroom

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