This article was originally published on 3/26/2010 on Momchats.com: http://momchats.com/five-simple-ways-to-incorporate-your-kids-into-your-daily-routine/.

“Mommy, do you have time to play with me?”  How many times have you responded to that question with “In a minute,” “not right now,” or “I just have too much to do!”?  If you’re like me, it breaks your heart every time your little one walks away disappointed.  But, let’s be fair!  As a mom, you have a lot on your plate.  Your job, whether you’re a working mom or a mom who works from home, your chores (cooking, cleaning, laundry), and your activities seem to take up every moment of your time—and these are all things that HAVE to be done, right?  Yet, our children are only children for a short time—and it’s vital to build relationships with them.  One simple solution is to include your children in your daily routine.

Consider these ideas for including your children while doing common tasks around the house.

• Cleaning: Buy some inexpensive kid-friendly cleaning equipment, and let your kids dust, mop, and sweep with you!  com is a great resource for kid-sized equipment, like brooms and mops.  Or you can buy Swiffer sweepers or old- fashioned carpet sweepers and take out one of the handle extensions.  You’re creating great helpers, showing kids that cleaning is FUN, and teaching kids life skills!
• Cooking: Give your kids small jobs to do while you’re preparing meals.  Have your kids set the table, add ingredients, cut up fruits and veggies.  com offers a variety of fantastic kid-sized cooking tools at great prices!  Kids love to help, and, as a side benefit, they’ll often try something new if they helped to create it!
• Dishes: Work together to clean up the kitchen after meals.  Even a two year old can bring his/her dishes to the sink.  My kids learned to scrape their plates into the trash and put their dishes away.  My daughter loves to wash dishes with me—she rinses and I wash.
• Laundry: Kids are great at sorting socks and folding washcloths.  But my three year old even knows whose clothes are whose.  I purchased inexpensive baskets for each member of the family ($1 at our local grocery store).  The kids can fold and sort right along with me!  Sorting is a great skill for children to learn, and while you’re folding you can talk about colors, sizes, seasons…
• Picking up: Sometimes a house that’s “picked up” is just as good as a house that’s truly clean!  Play clean-up games with your kids.  Turn on music (or sing a song together) while you pick up around the house.  Race to see who can pick up the most toys.  Kids will love that you’re taking time to have fun—and you have willing helpers to get the job done more quickly.  Offering a small prize for meeting a goal (10 minutes) is great, too, especially if that prize is a brownie or ice cream cone, which mom can enjoy with the kids!

Whatever you’re doing, invite your kids to help!  The point is to allow your kids to be a part of your life.  That’s all they really want!  Relationships are created through working together towards a common purpose.  (Some of my best conversations with my friends happened while we worked together.)  Take time to purposefully create those relationships with your children through working together.  It just takes a little thought and preparation—and it will create a happier mom and happier kids.