Maintaining a household has never been as difficult as before considering the escalating costs of many utilities. Not only do you have to worry about the food you need to serve everyday but you also have to plan a strategy to pay for the many costs generated by your family. Among them is the cost of utilities, which include, electricity and water.

Here are some ideas to get kids involved in lowering utility bills.

Limit Use of Electronic Games in the House

It is no secret that kids love electronic games, as this is a great way to pass the time and is fun. If your house has a video game console or computer, try to assign a time when the kids can play with it. As much as possible don't let your kids play with their video games around the clock, as this will result in soaring electric bills. Remember that when playing video game consoles the kids will also use the television. That in itself shows that more than one electronic appliance is running at full tilt.

Assign a time for video games and never allow the kids to exceed this time limit. It is advisable to keep a limit of one to two hours of gameplay during weekdays and four hours during the weekend. Also make sure that your kids study first before they plug in their consoles or even computers. Another key method is asking your kids to unplug their electric gadgets when not in use, as these devices eat up electricity even when in stand-by mode. This practice also teaches them to be neat, as they would be forced to properly store their electronic toys.

Preserve Use of Water at Bathtime

Advise your kids to preserve their use of water. This can done by limiting the use of the shower or the bathtub. Try to use a medium-sized container for kiddie baths instead of the shower to help control consumption. Tell them to close the faucet in the middle of brushing and just fill up a small cup when gargling. While it is also fun to splash around in the bathtub, remember you need at list 25 gallons of water to fill up a stardard-sized tub. Limit use of the tub during weekends.

Turn It Off When You Leave

Kids often leave the lights on when they leave a room. They also may not fully turn off the faucets when they are finished in the bathroom which can leave you with a costly water drip. It seems like logic and may not seem like it would make much of a difference to your bills but a dripping faucet can become gallons of wasted water over time. Getting your kids in the habit of turning the lights off when leaving a room or to make sure that the water faucets are completely turned off will make a difference in the long run.

In order to help control you utility bills, the kids need to be involved in working towards efficiency. It is always helpful when a child becomes responsible at an early age, as he or she will carry this up to adulthood. Parents should also realize that maintaining a household is basically a team effort and all of the family members should do their part.