7 Tips To Teach Kids To Clean Up

The truth is that kids are great at creating messes but terrible at cleaning them up. Thus, it is important to teach kids to clean up. As soon as they get bored with one activity, they are off and rushing toward something new. They live from one instant to the next. Your daughter may not be concerned by the visual disarray she leaves behind, but you may find it very unnerving. When there is another game to play, why waste time cleaning up when you can just as easily get a grownup to do it for you if you can hold out long enough?

Teach Kids To Clean Up:

#1 Start by resetting the rules.

Tell your children that you’ve decided to discuss your new cleaning-related decisions so that everyone knows what to expect.” It’s crucial to completely put something away after you’ve finished playing with it before moving on to anything else. If you continue to forget, that specific toy will spend a month in a special box.” Some parents inform their kids that any gifts left out will be donated. Choose your level of sternness, but make sure to stick to it. Your kid won’t take you seriously if you make empty threats while you are angry.

#2 Create proper space.

To assist children in learning where everything belongs:

  • Put removable picture labels on drawers and boxes.
  • Have your kid create or cut out images of the specific components (blocks, puzzles, games) that go into each one from magazines.
  • Write the item’s name legibly beneath the image (great word recognition for pre-readers).

Putting things away is made simpler when everything has its proper place.

#3 Make cleaning fun.

You are aware that some tasks can be enjoyable. Because of this, you bought a riding lawnmower with a cup holder and a zero-turn radius. And your child? They are still too young to understand this. Fortunately, you can add some of these things to make it more enjoyable. For example, you can play some music while cleaning with your kid and make it more fun.

#4 Use different equipment.

Utilize tools to transform cleanup time into creative time. The best scoops are dust pans. Heck, even scoops are fantastic.

teach kids to clean up

You and your child may be transformed into some grunting, vrooming hefty equipment by cleaning aids.

#5 Give the kids bite-sized cleaning projects.

Help your children divide the mess into manageable portions if they are feeling intimidated by its size or the length of time it will take to clean it up. It is quite helpful. Giving kids categories of objects to pick up, such as pretend food, figurines, blocks, and so on, also helps.

#6 Create a checklist.

To make cleaning more interesting for the kids, make a chart, a checklist, or a map. Engage your children in determining the tasks that should be included in the plan.

teach kids to clean up

If your children are old enough, you can invite them to contribute to the final drawing or writing, and they can check off each step as they go.

#7 Give them choices.

Giving the youngsters some cleaning authority could be helpful. Find out if they would want to tidy up before or after dinner. Which tasks would they prefer? Ask them. Perhaps one of your children truly enjoys mopping the floor, while another enjoys putting socks together. You might discover that you encounter less resistance if they have a choice and if doing so is something they truly want to do.

Takeaway:

Keep one thing in mind; you’re not raising kids; you’re raising adults. Even though it would be simpler to just clean up after your daughter in the short term, it’s critical that she learn to take responsibility for her own messes. A child who is denied the chance to complete the menial, unpleasant tasks of life grows up with lower self-esteem and confidence, whereas one who has learned that she is capable of completing a challenging task — or a significant mess — will carry the confidence she gains from that experience into her adult life. When it comes to raising toddlers, you can stick to some Montessori parenting tips that could be quite helpful.

 

 

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