Three Little Girls. One Writer Mommy. Working on Life and a novel.

I have finally discovered the secret to a gleaming shower!  It came to me recently when I decided to try letting Samantha take showers at night instead of a bath.  She likes to shower and the tub was getting pretty crowded with three growing girls in it.  We all know overcrowding leads to violence, and there was far too much fighting going on in the tub.  Suddenly, this idea came to me, and it worked, so I have to share.  Who doesn’t want a clean shower?  There are just a few simple steps:

1. Have Children

I know, it seems like a lot just for a clean shower, but think about it. A. Clean. Shower. You don’t have to have more than one, but it will work faster if you do.  As you’re going through those sleepless newborn nights, dealing with dirty diapers, potty training, and temper tantrums, keep the payoff in mind.  A. Clean. Shower.

2. Begin to Make Cleaning Fun

Start early.  Make games out of picking up.  Make sure they see you cleaning so they understand how important and clearly, fun, it is.  Let them “assist” you with dusting or wiping door knobs.  Sing silly songs about cleaning.  Kids eat that stuff up.

3. Decide to have them Shower

This is the most important step.  They need to be old enough to not fall in the shower and to be able to keep their faces up so they don’t get soap in their eyes with the shampooing.  Soap in the eyes kills the cleaning process.  Plus, you need to be able to leave them behind the closed door if you want that clean.

4. Put a Sponge in the Shower

This was accidental on my part.  Sean had to unclog the shower and he used a sponge to clean the gunk when he was done.  Then I was too lazy to take it out.  Plus, he used a new sponge and it seemed like a waste to throw it.

Turns out, kids love sponges!  As soon as Sammy saw it, she started scrubbing the shower door, making bubbles and really scrubbing that thing!  I mean, way better than I do.  And she liked it!  She even cleaned it with the squeegee when she was done!

4. Encourage the Behavior

Tell them they’re doing a great job.  Tell them they’re better at cleaning showers than you are.  Point out the dirty spots on the tile and say how you can’t get it clean.  Challenge them to do a better job than you.  Again, kids eat praise up.  Soon after I started that, Sammy began scrubbing the walls and grout like their was no tomorrow.

5. Set the Rules

I have only one, use Daddy’s soap, not Mommy’s more expensive, nice smelling soap.  You can have more rules if you’d like, but keep in mind, too many rules make it not fun.

That’s it!  Clean shower until they catch on, and then if you had more than one child, you just move the next one up.

But wait, you say, what about child labor laws?  Don’t worry, as far as I can tell, they don’t apply to your own children!

The only downside is they can only clean as high as they can reach, so try to have tall children.