Washing Dishes

Every night, after our kids are in bed, the first thing that I usually do is head to the kitchen to clean up. Food left out, dishes left on the table or counter, and dishes left in the sink. It seems that there is always something to get put away and cleaned up every night, and leaving it until morning is not really something I like to do.

Recently, I started talking to my oldest son about what I do after he goes to bed. He was curious why I was so insistent on him going to bed at his bed time, and why I sometimes get frustrated when he tries to not go to bed (needs the bathroom and other shenanigans). I explained to him that every night after he goes to bed, I head downstairs to clean up. It’s not like I’m spending a bunch of time playing games or something else. He was a little surprised by this as he thought I just went to watch TV or do something else fun.

After that conversation, we finally decided to put in place that our kids must start putting all of their own dishes into the dishwasher. My youngest son (just turned 3) is still too young to do that by himself, but he is able to bring his plate over to the sink area where my wife or I can help him. My oldest cleans his own plate, and puts it all in the dishwasher.

While they have been doing a pretty good job of cleaning the dishes, the bigger surprise has been their eagerness to actually wash dishes in the sink. They have decided that anything that ends up in the sink needs to be cleaned and set out to dry so that we don’t have to put it in the dishwasher. My oldest son then likes to wash the sink down to make sure it’s clean.

This desire to wash dishes came unexpectedly, but it was primarily due to one thing. My wife bought some fun sponges that sit right next to the sink, and the kids are only allowed to use them if they’re cleaning dishes. In other words, washing dishes has now become a game because they’re allowed to use the fun sponges that sit right next to the sink.

These two experiences lead to a couple of great lessons for parents. First, talk to your kids about what responsibilities you have to do to take care of them. You want your kids to know that it’s a lot of work to keep your house clean and in an orderly fashion. The house doesn’t clean itself.

Second, make cleaning fun for the kids. If your kids are resistant to helping out, try to figure out a way that they will enjoy it a little bit more. Most kids don’t love to clean (do parents like to clean?). They’ll be happy to complain about it. Buying a tool that will make the job more fun is often a simple way to engage your kids a little bit more in the activity.

Have your kids put their dishes in the dishwasher. If you don’t have a dishwasher, have them help wash the dishes. This is a great learning experience for your kids.