7 Cleaning Games for Kids That Are Actually Fun

Most kids don't tend to get excited about cleaning. Still, it's important to get them to pitch in with the chores. You'll have a better chance of getting your child engaged with cleaning by turning it into a game. From cleaning Jenga to treasure hunts to playing dress up, here's a list of games for you to try.

1. Cleaning Jenga

Jenga is a timeless classic and upping the ante to turn it into an educational experience is effortless. Separate a few logs from the pile and write down cleaning tasks on them. For example, you might want your kid to pick up their toys, help you mop the floors or any number of other easy household duties. Then, stack the logs and begin. Make sure the assignment logs are hidden from sight.

With this simple addition to the game, you heighten the stakes. The tower collapsing isn't the only thing your kids will need to be on the lookout for. If they pull a log that has an assignment scribbled on it, they have to perform that chore. This is a great way to distribute chores if you have more than one child. You can also spice things up by adding a few rewards to the logs for extra motivation, like giving them a treat after all the chores are completed or more playtime later.

2. Cleaning Treasure Hunt

Nothing spikes a child's interest more than the promise of hidden treats waiting to be discovered. Place fun rewards strategically around the house for your children to uncover while they clean. These rewards can range from a few pieces of their favorite candy to "coupons" that they can trade in for extra time doing something they enjoy. Make sure they understand that they can only cash their treasure once the chores are done.

3. Color Toy Pickup

Instead of telling your kid to pick up all of their toys to put away, chip away at the task by assigning colors. First, they have to collect all the red toys, then all of the blue ones and so on. Consider rewarding them after each round or, if you have more than one child, making them compete to see who finishes with their assigned color first.

4. Roll the Dice

Create a list of chores and assign them a number from one to six. Then, have each child roll the dice to find out which chore they're in charge of that day. You can have your kids work together to complete each number on the list, or they can work individually.

5. How Much Can You Clean Until the Timer Goes Off?

Instead of working at a steady pace, motivate your kids to do their chores in bursts. Set the cooking timer to go off in 10 or 15 minutes and challenge them to see how much they can get done before the buzzer sounds. By breaking the assignments up into smaller, more attainable goals, your children will be more focused on accomplishing as much as they can.

6. Cleaning Dance-Off

Music is a great way to pump anybody up. Blast your kids' favorite tunes and dance with them while you clean. Time will race by while they're having fun and they'll also get exercise. If you have multiple kids, have them take turns choosing the song you'll all enjoy while you do chores.

7. Play Dress-Up

All of these suggestions come down to playing pretend. If your child loves pretending to be different characters or if they like getting dressed up, have them create a new persona complete with a special outfit. They can be Cinderella, intent on finishing the chores so they can go to the ball; a superhero who uses his powers to organize things; and so much more.

The way to get kids to do anything that isn't inherently fun is to frame it in a way that gets them engaged. With so many options for your child to unleash their imagination and turn a mundane task into an adventure, you're sure to have a great time when it's time to do chores.