How To Deal With Unsupervised Kids When You Clean Houses
When you’re a house cleaner, your workplace is other people’s homes. Like any other workplace, there are people whose behavior can make your workflow difficult.
Until recently, customer’s kids were usually not a problem. Parents of preschool children would either corral the kids while you cleaned, send them to daycare or simply leave the house for a few hours.
School-aged kids were usually at school. In the summer, many were busy with summer recreation programs or away at sleep-over camp.
If they were at home, they stayed in a part of the home you didn’t have to clean that day, like their bedrooms or the basement.
The COVID-19 Squeeze
The COVID-19 pandemic put a squeeze on that situation. Over the past few years, more kids have been at home year-round.
These changed routines have frazzled a lot of parents who have been stuck at home with bored children.
COVID-19 may have put the squeeze on your cleaning routine, too. Now you have to work around a lot more people, including kids in the home.
This may continue to be the “new normal” after the pandemic is over.
When Kids Are Not Supervised
Sometimes the kids are supervised and sometimes they’re not.
When kids are not supervised, they can interfere with your cleaning by:
When dealing with unsupervised kids, you may have to get your customer’s help to get your cleaning is done safely and on time.
You’re A Skilled Home Service Worker
Think about how plumbers, electricians or appliance repair technicians work in their customers homes.
They are skilled home service workers called in for certain tasks. They perform those tasks according to their training and the customer’s needs.
Most plumbers and electricians and repair techs are courteous and respectful around household members.
In turn, they receive respect and the space to do their work from both adults and kids.
Set Your Work Fence From the Beginning
House cleaners, housekeepers and maid services are also skilled home service workers.
As a house cleaner, you have to demand the same respect and space as any other skilled home service worker. Insist on it from the beginning.
For example, during the walkthrough meeting with prospective customers describe how you begin your cleaning day routine in their homes.
Make it clear how you will get down to work and not waste their time with a lot of chit-chat.
Related: How to set expectations during the walkthrough with a “work fence”.
When you start with new customers, follow through with the cleaning day routine you described.
Arrive at your customer’s home, give pleasant greetings to everyone you see in the household, but avoid getting into long drawn out conversations.
If a greeting seems to stretch out into a longer non-business related conversation, simply smile and tell the person “I’d love to stay and chat, but I’d better get started with cleaning your home”. Then move on and start your work.
It’s up to you to take charge of your work situation and stay on schedule.
4 Types of Unsupervised Kids
Young Kids
Most customers will do what they can to keep their young children (18 months to 9 years old) out of your way on cleaning day.
However, if parents are busy with online phone calls or video meetings, their bored, unsupervised younger kids can run all over the home doing things that interfere with your ability to clean.
These children may scatter food, dishes or toys in areas that were clear when you arrived. A few may start handling your equipment or supplies.
Bossy Kids
Another few might try to boss you around, camp out in the same rooms you’re cleaning or otherwise interfere with your work.
For the (extremely rare) bossy child, it’s best to go about your work according to plan and politely ignore their “direction”.
With the bossy child, your first impulse may be to get angry and tell the child off, but that will backfire and you could end up souring your relationship with your customer or even losing them.
Curious Kids
Sometimes children are simply curious and want to see what a house cleaner does. Over the years, I’ve found the most curious kids are girls between 6 and 10 years old.
They tend to ask a lot of questions about your tools and supplies. Some may want to follow you around to see how you do things.
If you are comfortable with explaining things to her, share a bit time. Of course, keep the child’s safety top of mind.
Try to keep your “show and tell” brief. You are in her parent’s home to work, not socialize.
Older Kids
When kids become tweens (11 to 13 years old) and teens (14 to 18 years old), parents sometimes leave them home completely unsupervised.
By those ages, kids at home are usually busy with schoolwork, video games or social media.
It’s unlikely they will be curious enough to ask questions or wandering around the house with nothing to do.
Plus for years they’ve been told by their parents to stay out of the house cleaner’s way and let them do their work.
Older children are more likely to cause more work for you by scattering food, dishes and trash like half empty soft drink cans and potato chip bags in areas that were clear when you arrived.
If the parents are not home when these messes are made, avoid talking to the kids about the problem. If it’s a few items, a minute or two of extra pick-up is not a big deal.
However, if it’s a major mess make notes and take pictures with your phone. Try to include a date and time you noticed the problem.
Within 24 hours, email, text or call the customer and tell them you need their help.
Include those pictures you took in their home of the messy clutter left by their children.
Talk To Your Customer
No matter their age, if kids get in the way of your cleaning, go to your customer and ask for their help.
Tell the parents you are concerned about their kid’s safety around your equipment and supplies like power cords, vacuums, chemicals and germy cleaning cloths, among other things.
When talking with your customer about their children’s actions, put their kid’s safety first and your work needs second.
👉 Pro Tip: Don’t forget to make a note of your talk with the customer in your Incident Log. Also make a note of how and when the problem was resolved.
Related: What to do if a mess is made after you’ve cleaned.
Why You Need To Ask The Customer For Help
It’s important for you to work with your customers to ensure the safety of their children and get your work done.
After you’ve given the customer the facts, ask for their help to make things better and safer for their children.
Asking the customer for help with their kid’s behavior puts the problem and consequences of unsupervised children back on your customer, where it belongs.
Customers are responsible for solutions when it comes to their children.
Keep Your Customer In The Center
It’s important to remember the kids are not your customers.
Your customer is the person who pays you. They’re the most important person in this situation.
Try not to criticize the kids during your talk or email with the customer. Also avoid talking about how their actions made you feel.
Stick with the facts and talk about the consequences of their kid’s actions.
Highlight the consequences that directly impact the customer:
Be Aware Of What’s Important To Them
When a customer has to choose between their kids and someone who cares for their household things, the kid’s needs will win every time.
If you look at it from the customer’s point of view, they’re right. Their kids are a lot more important than the things in their home or the people who care for those things.
It’s up to your customer to balance their kids safety with their desire for a clean home. Make it easy and drama free for them to achieve that balance.
…And What’s Important To You
If you’ve talked to the customer and they can’t or won’t supervise their kids, make a decision.
Stay and raise your rates to cover time spent with unsupervised kids and extra clutter pick-up time and or send them a Cancellation Of Service letter and move on.
Life is too short for this type of drama.
COVID-19 or no COVID-19, there are plenty of customers who will appreciate your excellent cleaning.
There are also plenty of customers who know how to keep their kids from interfering with your work.
Make room for those types customers in your business.
Stay in Touch
Get valuable tools, systems and take action tips to build your dream 🌟 house cleaning business. Also products and services I think you might like.
You can unsubscribe anytime. Your privacy is protected.