Family and Parenting: Information For Families

The family that cleans together stay together. Whether it sounds clever or not it is actually true. Several studies show that families which partake in regular family cleaning sprees tend to have closer relationships. The idea is that when a family is partaking in any given activity together, they are actually openly communicating and congregating while they are completing the task at hand. The best part about this concept is the fact that anyone, any family can pull this off. Even though cleaning may not be the most seemingly productive act of declaring togetherness, it is certainly a means of productiveness, and an act of household fulfillment.

Some families have homes that seem to remain spotless indefinitely, while others carry the burden of constant cleaning and never seem to have the house spotless. There are many factors, such as pets, or country surroundings, that can attribute to the over-all state of the home. No matter what condition your home is in you can always find an excuse to pull the family together for a family-meeting to set up a time for a family cleaning day. This type of day is planned by simply picking a day that works for everyone; kids, parents, and pets alike. Once the schedule is figured out, and the day is set, it is time to plan the day’s events. Write out a simple chart that depicts each family member and their corresponding activities for the day. Be sure to set tasks that correspond to the age of the children.

You can create a day of festive snack foods and music even though the idea is to clean and organize the house. The night before have the kids help you to make and cut-up finger foods for the next day and prepare jugs of fresh tea and lemonade for the day of hard work ahead. By introducing this type of pact-cleaning you can instill qualities of fulfillment, goal-setting, and quality work within your kids. This can help you and your children to grow closer as you work together as a team to complete the tasks assigned. Once the job is done and the chores are completed you can begin to agree on a simple reward system. Rewarding your kids for a job well-done is an impressive way of being a good example. We all love to be noticed for our efforts. Kids are especially impressionable and need to be shown respect and gratitude for doing so well. Make it pizza-and-a-movie-night, make the early evening hours available for a little family Frisbee-golf at the local park. No matter what you decide to do, do it as a family, and the act of togetherness will continue on through the years.