what do you do to keep your kids quiet while cleaning?

There are some times when I will let my daughter watch a little bit of television, but I usually have her help. She loves it. She is 4 ½. She has a play vacuum cleaner, so if I use our real one, she right along side of me pretending to vacuum too. She also has a little duster that she likes to run around the house and use. It is pretty cute. If I am doing dishes in the kitchen, she is usually right by me playing with magnets. We have a lot of magnets on the fridge, including the LeapFrog letters.

My kids are older, so if they are in my way when trying to clean, they get to help! This keeps them out of the way. When they were little, they use to watch Barney all the time. I would usually put Barney on and they would watch while I cleaned.

I don't know how old your kids are but if they are old enough to walk maybe you could have them help you with little jobs like wiping off a coffee table or helping to fold wash clothes or something. If they can't help you then maybe you could get someone to come over and sit with them while you clean. When my kids where young (I have 3) I tried to keep things clean but with little ones running around right after me messing things up it got to the point where I wanted to have NOTHING in the house lol. But when they got older I started having them be Mommies Little Helpers and they where into it for awhile but as soon as they found out it wasn't any fun anymore they either went out to play while I cleaned or they just watched tv I told them if you get off that couch your gonna help me clean, they would just sit on the couch and play with thier toys and watch tv. As soon as I was done they where allowed to get off the couch and go outside or whatever they wanted to do, usually we would go to the store because they got rewarded if they where good. I hope that you find a way to get them to either help you or have someone come an sit with them while you clean I know it's very hard to keep a clean house when you have little one's running around right behind you messing things up lol.

my kids are 11 and 9 yrs old and when i want them to be quiet when im doing the household chores, i make them busy by giving them papers for them to draw anything since it's they're hobby to draw. and i usually tell them that they can play their psp or watch tv, whenever they're finish with their drawings, because even though they're not toddlers anymore, as siblings, like any one else, it's very common that they always had a fight.