Skip making the bed: 10 Other chores your kid should do

If you’re like most moms you’re more likely to prioritize a clutter-free home to a germ-free one. According to our survey, only 22 percent of moms tackle germs first when they clean. A full 88 percent of our readers indicated that they completely expect their kids to clean up after themselves. Don’t feel bad about requiring your children to tidy up clutter and put items back where they belong. You’re not their maid, after all.

We know your hard floors are coated in stuck-on juice stains from tipped-over sippy cups. Encourage children to help out by asking them to scrub or mop from time to time, as one in five of our readers require. Give them Lysol Clean & Fresh Multi-Purpose Cleaner for a germ-busting finish on your floors.

If you don’t require your kids to wash the dishes, as half of our readers do, it’s time to introduce your children to the wonderful world of cleaning up after themselves. Young kids can help by loading and unloading the dishwasher, and older kids can dive into scrubbing dirty pots and pans.

Teaching your kids how to take out the garbage from a young age will instill in them the notion that it’s unacceptable to cram items into the trash can when it’s already overflowing. What a great lesson to learn young, right? Unfortunately, most of our readers never require trash duty from their kids.

While wiping down counters and tables is a chore that many parents (54 percent) assign to their children, be sure to do the double duty of cleaning and disinfecting with tools like Lysol Power & Free Multi-Purpose Wipes to both kill germs and break up grime. The wipes are powered by hydrogen peroxide so your kids can achieve the same powerful clean without you worrying about harmful chemical residues.

Surprisingly, very few readers require their kids to help with dusting, and that’s really a shame. Dusting is one of the most rewarding household chores available to even young kids. A fab feather duster can pick up a huge amount of dust without ever exposing tiny kiddos to chemical ingredients.

Ew, toilets. If you have boys, you know just how nasty toilets can get as they’re learning how to aim. Give your kids — whether boys or girls — additional motivation for target practice by making them clean the toilets if they miss the mark. Most readers don’t ask their kids for toilet-cleaning duty (and most tackle the germiest places in their homes last), but once kids are out of diapers, your responsibility to clean up body fluids should decrease substantially.

You don’t want your college student bringing laundry home for you, right? Once kids have outgrown their onesies, 40 percent of moms say it’s time to introduce them to washing their own clothes. Toddlers can help by handing dirty laundry to you as you toss it into the washing machine. Older kids can help by folding and putting clothes away.

Swap your baby’s toy vacuum for the real thing and follow in the footsteps of half our readers who make their kids vacuum the house. At the very least, your children should be vacuuming their own rooms by the time they reach 8 to 10 years old. They’ll get a great workout in the process, we swear.

Finally, 16 percent of our readers ask their children to wash windows in the house. If your kids realize that you require them to wash the windows, they’ll be less likely to lick the windows of your French doors. Scout’s honor.