Our children love to get out every single toy that they own all at the same time. Yes, we've tried the "Put away what you already have out, then you can get out something else." It just doesn't work. THE PROBLEM: When it's time to clean things up, they begin to cry and tell me how HARD it is to clean ALL this stuff. You know that there is absolutely NO simpathy from this mom.
So, what fun tricks do you use to get your kids to clean up -- without whining? Or what ideas have you heard?
8 comments:
Welcome to the blogging world - I'm excited to be able to keep up with the happenings of your darling family. We hope to see you all next year -
For my clean-up suggestion: When no one is cooperating we play the clean-up game, I set the timer for 10 min. we see if we can get it all picked up before the timer goes off. If we're successful we get a reward - sticer, treat, extra story before bed ect.
If this doesn't work then try visiting the miricle music website. They reward for tasks done, while playing upbeat music to get the kids moving. When we are needing to get the kids focused again on the basics, teeth, hair brushing, bathing, putting clothes away, making bed, clean-up & doing things to help out. That cd has helped a bunch. They earn points used to spend special time with mom or dad or do something special. We've modified it to work for our family. check it out if you still need some new ideas. www.childrensmiraclemusic.com
I'm so glad you guys have a blog!!!
Mattson likes to string EVERYTHING out and hates to put stuff back. And here, Kevin thinks that I should have the house SPOTLESS when he gets home from work.
I have NO suggestions, as I'm dealing with just ONE kid! :) I don't even think you want to see what our house looks like when ALL 7 kids get together! LOL
Mine isn't an idea for cleaning, but more preventative. I think sometimes there's such a big mess because too many toys are available to play with. I keep half of Ben's toys in tupperware he can't get to - then I switch out every so often. That way it's impossible to make such a big mess and he gets excited about the toys he hasn't seen in a while. Of course, I only have one so I have no idea if it's practical for three.
I have won the "mean mom" award on several occasions but this always seems to work for me. After thoroughly explaining the rules, I put an empty box next to the toy box when it was time to clean up. I set the timer for 15 minutes and told them that anything not put away by the time the timer rang would be put in the box and donated to DI. I had to do it once and only once. Now when Nicolas and Cameron see the empty box in front of their door, they know what will happen next...(insert evil laugh here).
Thanks for hte ideas everyone! :)
Wow - I think that Jen Corder and my mom must be related. My mom did almost the same exact thing Jen does with toys/cleanup - only she called it "Mr. Clean", and instead of a box it was a big black garbage bag. Yes it was effective but I now shiver and shake every time I see a black garbage bag. (I only buy white ones)
Ah, the endless struggle! Don't worry, we face it daily here too!We do the game where you try to beat the timer (see mels). It usually works good. Lately we've started MR. MUNCHERS. If I find toys out and on the floor after I've asked the kids to clean up or after they've gone to bed, MR. MUNCHERS comes out and eats the toys!! (It's just a brown grocery bag with a face on it) Then they have to do an extra "help mommy" chore/job to get the toy back. (Something that isn't on their normal chore chart) My kitchen floor has been swept a lot lately! LOL!
Wow. Those are some good ideas. I hope I remember them down the road or can remember how to get back to this post, hehe :)
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