When Kennedy was younger I tried to get everything done while she napped, but now that she naps less, I dont want to use all my alone time doing menial house work.
I find including her in the projects is usually pretty successful.
Of course including a 16 month old baby into the situation will make the process go longer. But longer is better than not getting it done at all.
The reasons I like to include her:
1. Teach your child whatever you are doing. cleaning, organizing, decluttering, even decorating. Your child will be happy to be involved, and you are teaching them new skills. Sure they might not get it when they are only 1, but done over years they will absolutely pick up these skills. Not to mention so many adults struggle with some of these issues, so showing your child how to do these and the importance will only be a great life skill.
2. Variation is the key when you have small children. My daughter likes to be upstairs because we spend so much time downstairs and shes looking for a change of pace. If I want to work on something, she absolutely wants to help.
3. Alone time is precious try to do something you enjoy. I really try hard to get things done with my daughter so I can enjoy a little me-time. So I try to involve her as much as possible so that when she naps or goes to bed I'm done or pretty much done with all the house work.
4. No time is really good, so why not now? I'm doing more stuff right when I notice it lately. Case in point her drawers were filled with clothes that were too small, and I had to weed out all the small clothes and organize her new bigger clothes into them. It really wasn't hard at all. I closed her bedroom door, looked around to make sure the area was safe and then let her play as I did it.
There are 2 schools of thought, people who do things when they see they need to be done, and others who see it needs to be done and adds it to their to do list. Both work, and I fall somewhere in between, probably closer or more often to the list person. But doing items right when you see them takes a lot less mental effort than doing it later. Try it out, tell me how it goes!
Have a fabulous day!
- Jen
my kids have both been showing interest in painting furniture so we can do it together. so i plan to start finding little wooden pieces at yard sales that can be all theirs. why not? we have a loft above the garage and i can decorate it with their painted pieces and it will be all for them! and they both like to clean if i am cleaning and i let them.... they just want to be able to do what we are doing and be with us!
ReplyDeleteSuper cute idea, and I agree they do just want to be with us. : )
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