It’s hard to get kids excited about cleaning.  As adults, we know the benefits of a tidy house (improved mental health, happier household, the whole house runs smoother, etc.).  But that’s too deep for kids.  They don’t want to do ANYTHING unless it’s fun.  So here are 10 games I use when I need to trick my kids into cleaning:

1. Object Hunting:  I pick random objects around their room and have them grab as many as they can.   I will say to my kids, “how many stuffed animals can you grab?”
2. Shape Hunting:  Same principle as before, but instead of objects we’re hunting for shapes.
3. Color Hunting:  You guessed it.  Same thing, but with colors.
4. Race (Kid vs. Parent):  For this game, I will race my child.  We will either see who can pick up the most of an item or I’ll split the room in half and see whose side gets cleaner.
5. Race Timed (Kid vs. Parent):  My son likes to use the stopwatch app on my phone.  So, a lot of times he’ll time me for 30 seconds and then I’ll time him and we’ll “judge” the room to see who wins.
6. Ad Cleaning:  In this game, we’ll put on YouTube and watch.  When an ad pops up, we’ll get up and clean for the duration of the ad.
7. I Spy:  We’ll each take turns picking an object, just like in I Spy.  But each time we guess a new object we have to pick it up and put it away before the person answers if that’s what they were “spying”.
8. Starts with…:  Here, we’ll each take turns telling the other person a letter of the alphabet.  That person then needs to pick up everything that starts with that letter.  You could also draw letters out of a hat.
9. Simon Says:  Again, we’ll both take turns being Simon.  “Simon Says pick up the shoes”, etc.  If you do something, Simon didn’t say then switch.
10. Rock, Paper, Scissors:  Play the game.  The loser picks up one item.

Remember, kids (even my 10 year old) crave attention and positivity.  You may need to stay in the room while your child cleans or check in on them frequently.  And don’t forget some big GOOD JOBs and WOWs!

The next time you need your child to pick up, try out one of these games and let me know how it goes!