When our children are babies, we do everything for them. After all, they're innocent babies that do need us. But as they become toddlers, then preschoolers, and eventually teenagers, we find ourselves still doing a lot, including making the decision to clean the house ourselves. Well, there are ways we can encourage our children and partners to help us clean the house, so let's explore them!

How to teach our children to clean the house. Here's 3 parenting tips.

1. Focus on one thing a day.

Cleaning the entire house in one day is a chore no one wants to do on their two days off from work. And because busy lives don't always afford us the opportunity to do things on the weekdays, it almost seems like there is no other way. But there is! Set aside 20 minutes each day to focus on one thing, and tackle the cleaning duties. You can make Monday the day you clean a bathroom, Tuesday the day you change the bedding, Wednesday the day you dust and vacuum, and so on and so forth. Whatever works for you, do that! To keep things organized, you can implement a chore system that’s rewarded by items from their universal wishlist.

2. Divide duties.

Lessen the load by creating a chart that assigns chores to each member of your household. Keep in mind, if your children are under the age of 8, you can leave the most challenging chores like vacuuming, doing laundry, and cleaning the showers to yourself or your spouse. But don't hesitate to give your children chores like taking out the trash, clearing the table, wiping down the counters, and cleaning up the living room. 

3. Don't micromanage!

We often want our children and partners to help us clean the house, but don't know how to make that happen. When they do offer to help, the level of cleanliness does not always meet our expectations. So what do we do? We make the decision to do it ourselves. STOP! By placing all of the responsibility on ourselves, we're depriving those around us –particularly our children—the opportunity to contribute and gain the self-esteem and confidence that comes with having responsibility. In short—allow them to help you clean the house. Children are willing to help more than any of us could expect, but we need to allow them the space to do that without being criticized.