Should You Hire Someone to Clean Your Child’s Room?

The challenge of keeping a child's room clean often leads to debates between parents who might feel inclined to opt for hiring a cleaning service and those who prefer to take a more hands-on approach. On one hand, hiring a professional can save time and effort, especially when dealing with tough messes. On the other hand, teaching your child the importance of responsibility and self-reliance through hands-on learning can provide valuable life lessons.

Why Hire Someone to Clean the Room?

There are several reasons why parents might consider hiring a cleaning service to handle their children's room:

Time and Convenience: Professional cleaners can save you precious time and effort, allowing you to focus on other important tasks. Tackling Tough Messes: They can deal with demanding cleaning jobs that might be tedious or difficult for a child to manage alone. Peace of Mind: When the room is clean, everyone in the household feels more at ease and less stressed. Image and Impression: A spotless room can create a better overall impression for visitors, neighbors, and school activities.

Why Not Hire Someone and Instead Teach Responsibility?

Teaching your child responsibility and basic cleaning skills can offer significant long-term benefits:

Life Skills: Learning to clean is one of the many life skills that can greatly benefit your child as they grow older. Self-Reliance: Encouraging independence through cleaning tasks fosters a sense of self-reliance and accountability. Organization: Clean habits can lead to better organizational skills and a more orderly environment overall. Respect for Effort: Understanding the effort put into maintaining cleanliness can instill respect for hard work.

A Balanced Approach: Combine Professional Cleaning with Responsibility

A hybrid approach where you occasionally hire a cleaning service to take the load off, while also involving your child in the cleaning process, might be the best solution. Here’s why:

Frequent Cleaning: Hire a professional to clean the room regularly, ensuring it stays neat and tidy. Child Involvement: Teach your child how to do basic cleaning tasks, such as picking up toys, making the bed, and sweeping the floor, during designated times. Positive Reinforcement: Reward your child for their effort and progress in keeping their room clean. Flexibility: Be ready to adjust the approach as your child grows and matures.

Case Study: The Family who Went Wrong

It is important to note that certain families have discovered that unfortunately, allowing a child’s room to be cleaned by professionals without actively teaching them the skills can backfire. One upper middle class family, for example, hired a professional cleaner to maintain their cleanliness. However, over time, they noticed that everyone in the family, including the children, developed a ‘total slob’ mentality, with no one taking responsibility for tidying up their own space.

On the contrary, my own experience as a child involved cleaning my room to acceptable standards, which I viewed as an organized mess. This experience equipped me with valuable organizational habits and a sense of responsibility that carried through other aspects of my life.

Remember, by balancing professional cleaning with teaching your child the importance of responsibility, you can ensure that your home remains clean while also fostering important life skills and self-reliance in your child.