Cleaning and Babies and older children

Jessica - posted on 07/25/2011

i let my kid vaccum, n help load the dish washer, they pick up they own room. When i do clothes i wait til they in bed or they toss the basket.It really hard to avoid cleanin around ur kids kids are messy. Find a routine that works!

Ange - posted on 07/20/2011

I clean my house when my baby is awake and when he is asleep sometimes too... sometimes I take his nap times as me time too and sit and relax and there are times where I can't get a thing done cause he so cranky and demands all my time but he is really good to play by himself for the most part lol its all good.... but my friend that I am talking about she won't clean house and she is using the children as an excuse...
So is this right of her to do use the children as the excuse not to clean and then make them clean instead

Nena - posted on 07/20/2011

I did most of my cleaning when kids were out of the house or asleep. They made an even bigger mess while I cleaned. We had sometimes 6 kids in the house at once and their was no point. When they were younger they were busier. I think it's nothing to worry about. Kids are WAY more important than cleaning. As longs as the house is not too dirty for the children to live in.

Stifler's - posted on 04/20/2011

Oh yeah I quickly mop when he goes down for a nap so it's dry when he gets up and there isn't foot prints and him slipping over while he's awake hahaha

Krista - posted on 04/18/2011

When Sam's awake, I'll tidy, run the vacuum, do dishes, or dust. I can also give our powder room a quick cleaning.

There are some other things that have to wait until he's napping, or in bed for the night, though.

I can't mop, because it's pretty much a guarantee that he'll walk on the floors while they're still wet. I can't fold laundry, because he tries to "help" and just winds up un-folding it all. I can't DO laundry, unless my husband is also home, because that involves going down to the basement and leaving him unattended. And I can't scrub our bathrooms, because he'd have to be upstairs with me, and we don't have a gate installed at the top of the stairs.

So, I pick and choose what works, and he does put his books back on the shelf when I ask him to, so that's a start. Plus, he loves imitating Mommy, so if I'm polishing our fridge (we have stainless steel appliances), he's happy to grab a cloth and start rubbing the fridge with it.

Jayce - posted on 04/17/2011

Hubby and I gave the place a good cleaning today with our 3 yr old 'helping'. I might as well let him help now when he wants to because once those teen years hit I'll probably be begging to get him to clean his room.

Stifler's - posted on 04/17/2011

I only clean when he's awake. I refuse to be doing housework in my free time. That time is ME time. He plays by himself either in his room or in the loungeroom, always has played by himself or just follows me around and sits near me with a bunch of pegs or something while I do things.

Kim - posted on 04/16/2011

Coltin is 4 and Jayde is 10 months and I clean when they are awake all the time. My son is past the cleaning is fun stage but I still make him help out. He vaccums under the table after meals, makes his bed and puts his clothes in the laundry. If I didn't clean while my kids are awake my house would be a disaster and it would take me 5 times longer. I like to have a break myself once they are in bed and with the way my house is I am too noisy if I clean when they are falling asleep.

Julianne - posted on 04/16/2011

I can see why some people would only clean when their kids are sleeping. My nephew is quite demanding. Hes going to be a year on the 2nd but hes very clingy. Any time my sister tries to clean up when hes awake, he gets sooky because he wants 100% mommy time when awake. I never had that with gabby, she always wanted to do her own thing or do what i was doing.

Bonnie - posted on 04/16/2011

I usually only clean when my kids are awake. By the time they go to bed I am usually exhausted.

Minnie - posted on 04/16/2011

Hahah Tracey, that's my philosophy too. Who wants to be cleaning when you have a few moments to yourself?

Also teaches them good habits.

Mel - posted on 04/16/2011

nah I clean while they are awake or asleep but I do feel alot of guilt for doing it while their awake, so mainly when their asleep, but at the end of the day I need my " me" time too so the reason I do things while their awake is so I can have some time to sit down and relax in nap time. or Id go crazy.

Nikki - posted on 04/16/2011

I don't do a lot of cleaning when my daughter is awake, if I do clean she is helping and it's very counter productive. But I try to at least pack away, keep the kitchen clean and the washing. I am lucky that hubby gives me about an hour when he gets home from work to finish dinner and clean the bathroom, vacuum etc Then on the weekends he usually takes her to the play centre or park for an hour or two so I can give the house a good scrub. Her sleep time is me time too Tracey, I would go insane if I didn't get that break everyday.

Sneaky - posted on 04/15/2011

I ONLY clean when the kids are awake and/or with me! If they are asleep of at pre-school then that is ME time.

Erin - posted on 04/15/2011

My 2yo generally 'allows' me to do one job at a time, before demanding my undivided attention again. Meaning, I can quickly pick up the toys and vaccuum, or do dishes and clean the kitchen, but rarely both. It's a pain in the ass, because it feels like I'm never 'done'. But I'm a single mum, so if I waited until she wasn't here I would be living in filth. I would love nothing more than to spend an entire morning every week cleaning top to bottom, but have to settle for doing things more gradually.

Julianne - posted on 04/15/2011

I clean with her awake. She helps me too :P Its quite amusing actually. She grabs the broom and swishes it around the floor. Or just follows me around doing what i do. The best is when she folds clothes. She takes them and balls them up then places them on the pile i make.

Ange - posted on 04/15/2011

but I mean some people are using their kids as an excuse not to clean and sit around on their butts all day

Ange - posted on 04/15/2011

that is what I was thinking they have to learn to clean otherwise when they get older their houses are not going to be clean either and the women/men they are with will be miserable with them for it lol

Toni - posted on 04/15/2011

My son 'helps' me clean, although at the moment his help makes my jobs last twice as long lol but he is learning and he has to learn somehow :-)

Ange - posted on 04/15/2011

Lissa I thinks its an excuss as she doesn't like to clean and she has a dog and they don't clean up after it so the place reacks of pee so its a nasty smell when you walk into her place.....
my little boy is still too young yet to get involved but he is watching me the whole time and I talk to him all the time and my other 7 year old helps me when she feels like it but she is busy playing with her friends.... but ya I hate cleaning too but it has to be done now my house isn't spotless by any means but it definitly don't stink

Amber - posted on 04/15/2011

Just because my son is home doesn't mean that nothing can get done. I get my son involved in some of the cleaning or set him up with things to do while I do some on my own.

I will admit that not as much gets done when he's here though. I'm much more productive when it's just me and my supplies.

Lissa - posted on 04/15/2011

Does she have a reason not to clean when they are around or is it a bit of an excuse because she really just doesn't want to do it. In my house everyone is old enough to take part in cleaning up and so they do. I've always found small children really like to help, even if their "help" is not always actually helpful. I think you should teach children from a young age that a family is a team, everyone needs to pitch in, therefore they need to be awake when things are being tidied :)
I do also believe that although a house should be clean it should also be "lived in".

Louise - posted on 04/15/2011

My daughter is 2.5 and she follows me around as I do the cleaning. She has her own duster and dusts her toys as I do the wood work. She picks the toys up for me when I vacuum. She has a go at cleaning her own sink in her bathroom bless her with a pair of my rubber gloves. I just make cleaning a game and she does it with me. I can't see anything wrong in this as long as your children are not being neglected whilst you clean you can clean any time you like. Blimey if I waited for her to be asleep and my teenage son to get up I would never get anything done.