One of the constant battles you will have as a parent is getting your kids to clean their rooms. While I can’t help you with this directly, there are a few things that you can do to make the rooms easier to organise. If you get your kids into good habits early in life, it’s more likely that they will keep them up for the rest of their lives
Here are just a few things you can do to make life easier for both you and your kids.
Organise the Room with Your Child.
While it may be tempting to sort all the mess out yourself, it’s more likely that your child will take advantage of this and it will get untidy once again very quickly. You should aim to supervise them while they do the cleaning their bedroom, making sure everything has a clearly defined place. When you are doing this, try to get down to your kids’ height as this will give you a completely different perspective on the room and what needs to be changed.
Create Zones.
All of your kids’ things should have an area of the room they are kept in. Buy some storage devices to make this easier which should also help to stop things from getting lost. Make sure your kids are responsible for keeping everything in the right areas of the room.
Create Space.
If your kids share a room, there are plenty of bunk beds for boys and girls available that will save a lot of space in the room. Also try to use storage devices that utilise height to make sure there is no clutter on the floor. We all know that it’s an ongoing battle to keep their toy collection tidy. After a while they will outgrow certain toys, so try to clear space by selling them or donating them to charity. If they don’t want to get rid of them altogether, you could think about moving them up to the attic or an outdoor storage area. It’s the same with clothing that no longer fits them.
Build a Routine.
Your kids should have a clear weekly routine of the jobs they need to do. Create a big poster that can go up on the wall with a list of jobs. You can award stars every time a job is completed and offer different rewards on a weekly or monthly basis. This may seem like bribery, but we all know that this a system that’s been proven to work every time!
The Battle Goes On.
You can do all of these things, but it’s still likely that “clean your room!” will be a commonly heard phrase in your household. While you can give in and do the job yourself, it’s much better to nag your kids to clean. Eventually, they should learn to be independent and look after their own things. This is an important lesson that they will carry with them throughout their entire lives.
