What 's It Take to Get a Child to Clean a Room?
One day each week Hannah and John have an early dismissal day where they get out of school over an hour early. Being the mean mom that I am, I don't let them use the extra time to play with friends or watch TV or even play games on the computer. No, early dismissal day is the day my kids are supposed to clean their rooms. They aren't supposed to play or do other fun things until their rooms are clean. (By clean, I just mean the clutter is picked up enough that the floor can be thoroughly vacuumed.)
I assume my children are somewhat normal when I say that they don't like to clean their rooms. Instead of picking it up quickly so they can join their friends who are constantly knocking on the door asking if they can play and if they are done yet, my children will play with the things they are supposed to be picking up, occasionally making a worse mess than the one they started with. Sometimes they try to ignore me, and don't clean their rooms at all, hoping I'll forget they need to clean them and let them play the next day. (I confess that sometimes I do forget, so my inconsistency has proved to them that sometimes that works. ) To encourage my children and give them some direction, sometimes I will use games or treats to help motivate them. Here are some of the games we have played:
1. Write a list of types of items to put away on slips of paper which are then folded up and put in a bowl. The kids pull a strip from the bowl and take care of the item listed on the strip.
2. We pull all the clutter on the floor into one large pile in the middle. I study the pile for a minute, then leave the room. The kids take care of several things and when I return, I'm supposed to figure out which things they put away.
3. I tell the kids a color, and they put away everything they can find in their room that has that color on it.
4. I set the timer for 15 minutes and they race to see if they can get their rooms clean before the timer goes off. Sometimes I have to break this down a little, like see if they can get all the books put away in three minutes or less, then reset the timer and see if they can get all the clothes picked up in three minutes or less. The longer time seems to result in them loosing focus on what they are supposed to be doing.
5. John went through a stage where he loved to sort, so he would sort the clutter into different categories (color, size, room they belong in, who they belong to, what kind of thing they are, etc.) and then put away one pile at a time. The problem here would come when he spent so much time sorting, and then resorting, that it was a long time before he would actually get around to putting any of the piles away.
6. This week I made a spinner. I divided a circle into six parts: books, trash/papers, toys/puzzles/games, stuffed animals/dolls, clothing/shoes, and misc/other. Each section of the circle had a different color and a number (1-6). The kids could spin the spinner, and then choose whether to take care of that type of item, that color item, or that number of items. Amazingly, there was enough novelty to it that the kids did get to go out and play-- and only an hour and a half after they got home from school! That worked, for this week. Next week I'll have to go through it all again.
I assume my children are somewhat normal when I say that they don't like to clean their rooms. Instead of picking it up quickly so they can join their friends who are constantly knocking on the door asking if they can play and if they are done yet, my children will play with the things they are supposed to be picking up, occasionally making a worse mess than the one they started with. Sometimes they try to ignore me, and don't clean their rooms at all, hoping I'll forget they need to clean them and let them play the next day. (I confess that sometimes I do forget, so my inconsistency has proved to them that sometimes that works. ) To encourage my children and give them some direction, sometimes I will use games or treats to help motivate them. Here are some of the games we have played:
1. Write a list of types of items to put away on slips of paper which are then folded up and put in a bowl. The kids pull a strip from the bowl and take care of the item listed on the strip.
2. We pull all the clutter on the floor into one large pile in the middle. I study the pile for a minute, then leave the room. The kids take care of several things and when I return, I'm supposed to figure out which things they put away.
3. I tell the kids a color, and they put away everything they can find in their room that has that color on it.
4. I set the timer for 15 minutes and they race to see if they can get their rooms clean before the timer goes off. Sometimes I have to break this down a little, like see if they can get all the books put away in three minutes or less, then reset the timer and see if they can get all the clothes picked up in three minutes or less. The longer time seems to result in them loosing focus on what they are supposed to be doing.
5. John went through a stage where he loved to sort, so he would sort the clutter into different categories (color, size, room they belong in, who they belong to, what kind of thing they are, etc.) and then put away one pile at a time. The problem here would come when he spent so much time sorting, and then resorting, that it was a long time before he would actually get around to putting any of the piles away.
6. This week I made a spinner. I divided a circle into six parts: books, trash/papers, toys/puzzles/games, stuffed animals/dolls, clothing/shoes, and misc/other. Each section of the circle had a different color and a number (1-6). The kids could spin the spinner, and then choose whether to take care of that type of item, that color item, or that number of items. Amazingly, there was enough novelty to it that the kids did get to go out and play-- and only an hour and a half after they got home from school! That worked, for this week. Next week I'll have to go through it all again.
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