Thursday, March 25, 2010
a little mother help out there?
Not that our house is ever dirty or anything (winky, winky), but do you motherly folk out there have any suggestions for getting your kids to clean their rooms? I would love to hear the tricks that have worked over the years so I don't resort to anything drastic. My next step right now? Packing up all of their belongings. Back in the good ole' days when our house was on the market, keeping rooms clean was easy because just about everything was packed up. And since I would feel pretty mean doing that again, I would love some input here. Thanks, ladies.
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6 comments:
Oh, Sarah. I wish I knew how.
Lately, I've been having them do a 5-minute clean-up before bed. It helps a little.
I used to do short bouts of cleaning, race against the clock, race against me to see who could pick up more, rewards for keeping room clean and he would still fight me on it. Finally he wanted a very expensive toy & was willing to give up everything else to get it so I jumped on it. Since then his room has been fairly easy to keep cleaned up.
If you figure anything out, please post! We tried putting everything in bins and taking one down at a time... But you still have to put everything back. It worked for about a month, though.
I would give my kids a chance to clean up their rooms, and then when the time was up anything left behind I would put in a box. If they wanted something out of it 1) they either had to do a job for it or 2) they had to buy that item back. Anything that wasn't claimed in a few weeks was sent to DI.
Hi, Leigh Anne recommended your blog and i'm impressed with your family life! As a mother of five and grandmother of 26 (plus I do child care) I have found that it is more effective to work with your child rather than tell them what to do. I know that is hard for a busy mom with a large family, but if you even get them started by saying, "Let's clean one corner of your room and I'll help" it can work better.
A mom in our neighborhood shared last week that in desperation with her teen-aged son who wouldn't clean his room by the deadline, she packed up his things and gave them to a neighbor. Hhe had to go door to door to find out which neighbor it was, and other mothers started doing the same thing!
Marti in CA
I have found food to be a pretty good motivator. So, before dinner I have them pick up. Also, in the morning, since I'm the vacuumer, I tell them that I can't do my job until they do theirs (getting the floor ready for me to vacuum). Even still, there is usually the sing-songy voice of mommy urging them on, "How's it going in there? Are you almost done, cause I'm almost ready."
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