Clean Your Room!!
How many times have you said that as a parent? Or...how many
times have you heard that as a kid?
The whole "keep-your-room-clean war" happens in just about every
household, but believe it or not, there are ways to make it not
such a headache for both kids and parents.
The first thing you as a parent must remember is that every kid
is different. Just like every adult is different. YOUR idea of
clean is most likely not the same as your child's.
Also, all people (adults and kids) organize a space in their own
way.
Let me give you example: My five year old son's idea of an
organized room is that everything is in it's place. He likes
things lined up where he can see them and when he cleans his
room, everything goes back in the same spot where it belongs.
Now my 7 year old daughter, who is the creative type, doesn't
really care where it goes. She has the "out of sight, out of
mind" mindset. So trying to get her to put things in the same
place every time is like pulling teeth!
After realizing and accepting that both kids are completley
different I had to come up with different ways to help them keep
their room clean.
What I just said is KEY! Coming up with ways to HELP them keep
their rooms clean. If they have no system in place or nowhere to
keep their things, then cleaning their room will seem like an
impossible task. But, if you as the parent can adapt their rooms
to their personality type, it will make things a lot easier.
Now back to my kids...For my son, having things labeled is a big
help. He has a bin labeled "army men", one labeled "dinosaurs",
etc. So when I say, "please clean up your army men", he knows
exactly where they go.
As for my daughter...I tried the labeling technique and what did
she do? She took them off because she didn't like it. She said,
"I know where my things go". So for her, dividing her room into
zones (dress-up, doll house etc.) with a bin or two for each
helps her keep her room clean.
I tried having one drawer for all her dress-up shoes and one
drawer for all her dress-up accessories, but it just didn't
work. She wants them all in one bin and doesn't mind digging for
her things. Digging drives me crazy, but for her, it's just
fine...and maybe even fun.
Last but not least, just walking into your kid's room and saying
"Clean Your Room!" is usually not the best way to go. For
toddlers, elementary age and for some teenagers it is a good
idea to be specific.
For example: "Please put all your dress-up clothes in the box
and all your doll clothes in their box." That way they have a
specific mission. Instead of just looking at their room in a
state of confusion, you have given them some direction.
One note to parents: Keeping YOUR room clean also will set a
GREAT example for your kids! Hey, just making the bed makes a
world of difference ;).