Motivated Mommy Monday's: Kids who Clean? Say what??????

That's right @ 2 and 4 my kids clean. As a neat FREAK it has always been important to me that they pick up after themselves, so that's where we started. When they were babies I would make them put away their toys after playing. Then, when they started walking I made them put their dirty dishes in the sink after eating, and their dirty clothes in the hamper when they changed, I even made them walk their dirty diapers to the trash, and get a new diaper out. For a long time those where the only chores I made them do. But as my daughter (the 2 year old) gets older I have started to think more about how to prepare her to fulfill her roles of helpmate/wife and mother. Last week Mandi over at Capitol Heights Mommy wrote a great post about the importance of training our daughters for this role, you should definitely go check it out.

I feel very convicted to raise children who understand the roles God calls them to as men and women. I feel like too many of today's CHRISTIAN marriages fail because of this very reason. Statistically, the divorce rate among Christians is 53%, that's about 3% HIGHER than the national average. I believe that PART of the reason more Christian marriages fail is because as Christians we go into marriage expecting that our spouse is going to fulfill their God give role in the marriage. However, because of the society that we live in few of us actually know how to do this. Instead, we follow the world's pattern for men and women and in a Christian marriage (any marriage for that matter) this can be disastrous! In my own marriage it has been a struggle. Those of you who know my husband and I are probably laughing because you know exactly what I mean when I say that. Josh tends to be more laid back and finds it hard to take the leadership/decision making role on and well I am definitely a strong-willed natural born leader who finds it hard to submit/serve. For a long time we struggled to accept our roles as God designed them and the result was a LOT of conflict. In the last couple of years we have really turned things around, but it was/is not easy. That's why I am determined to raise kids who not only understand their roles but fulfill them!

For me that means raising a daughter who is not only loving, respectful and submissive, but who is also able to run her household like the Proverbs 31 woman. I want her husband to have confidence in her ability to do so. It also means raising a son who is not only the spiritual leader of his home but works hard and loves like Christ. Christ who lead by example; who though he was worthy of service, came not to be served but to serve others. That is why I find it so important to teach Cherish to keep a clean house and Jeremiah to see a need and meet it.

I know that it would be much easier and less time consuming to just do it yourself but we need to remember that as Christian mothers we have a responsibility to not just keep a clean house for our family but to train our kids in the way they should go. I also cannot stress the added benefits; first it is a great way to spend time together. We try to have fun with it by making games out of cleaning, which I think has in turn taught them to find joy in serving.  Another, great benefit is that as they get better at these things my "job" gets easier, Woo Hoo! The greatest benefit is raising kids who glorify God by fulfilling the roles he has called them to.

So, here are a few examples of ways I am training my kids:

1. They help with the laundry.

• By putting their clothes in the hamper when they are dirty.
• By helping me separate all the clothes when it comes time to do the laundry. 
• By pulling the clothes out of the dryer.
• By mating socks.
• By helping putting away drawer clothes.

2. They do the dishes.

• By putting the dirty dishes in the sink.
• By pulling their chairs up to the kitchen sink and helping wash their plates, utensils, cups and snack bowls (don't worry they never wash knives and they are always supervised). 
• They also have a play kitchen that they pretend to cook in. When we bought the kitchen for our daughter @ Christmas we also bought her a play cleaning set so that she could learn how to keep her kitchen clean. It includes a broom, hand broom, dust pan, mop, hand held vacuum (which actually works), a duster, 2 sponges, 3 spray bottles and a cleaning apron.

3. They clean their room.

• They pick up their toys. I have them organized in a way that makes it easy for them. We have bins for all the small toys; balls, action figures, cars, blocks, etc. 
• They make their beds.
• They put away laundry (dirty and clean).

4. They help clean the bathroom (don't worry I use organic cleaners, there's no harm to their health).

• They use baby wipes or rags and spray bottles full of warm water to clean the counters and the toilets usually after I have already cleaned them.
•  They help sweep and mop the floors.
• They put their toys away after they bathe.

5. They help take out the trash.

6. Jeremiah has tons of play tools and lawn equipment to teach him to learn how to serve in these areas.

I know it sounds like a lot but I assure you they do not do these things everyday. The only things they are required to do daily are pick up their toys (including bath toys), put their dirty dishes in the sink and their dirty laundry in the hamper. The other things are just ways they occasionally help, they usually only do one or two of these a week. The idea is not to make them our slaves or rob them of their childhood but to prepare them for life. And no we do not pay them an allowance for doing these things, we feel like it is their contribution to the family and they should do it for that reason.

If anyone else wants to share ways to get your kids to contribute please do so. I would love to hear your ideas and see if I can incorporate them into our household.

Finally, I am NOT implying that the God given roles to men and women prohibit us form doing anything outside of what I described. I am simply saying that no matter what else we do with our lives as men and women we are required to fulfill certain responsibilities. Men are to be the spiritual leaders of the household even if they are not the primary breadwinners and women are to be homemakers even if they work outside the home.


Just some thoughts,

MEL