Every parent has at one time or the other tried to get their child to clean his/her room. Sometimes, the race to get a child to embrace cleanliness can be tiring. Some days you just want to get home in peace and quiet but the pile of dirty laundry is more than enough reason to force your child to get things cleaned up. On some days, you ask them over and over again to clean their room. On other days, you plead and cajole. I know how frustrating and exhausting that must feel.
Some kids don’t keep their rooms clean and tidy because it doesn’t bother them. They have other things that engage their time like hanging out with their friends or playing games. While you have to be a cool parent, you have to ensure their environment is kept tidy. If you have a child that throws tantrums when he or she is asked to clean their room, employ these easy steps to get them going:
Apply reinforcement
This means attaching a positive reward for cleaning their room. The first reaction of kids is to rebel when they have been assigned a boring task but in the case of a positive reward, they will have a rethink because of the gifts they stand to gain.
Get them motivated
Cleaning a room is a boring task especially through the eyes of a kid. Most kids are not motivated to clean alone. They want to rebel and resist doing anything their parents want them to do. Get them motivated and make them see it as a fun chore. Join them if you can.
Don’t be the stuck-up parent
When children know you can be offended easily, they tend to play with that knowledge by deliberately baiting you. From experience, I’ll advise you not to get angry. Most children go through this phase in a bid to assert themselves. Don‘t be too strict or rigid about cleaning their room. Sometimes, allow them to do it on their own. Handling children requires a lot of patience. Let them know that cleaning the room is for their health benefit.
Split the mess into smaller piles
When the pile of dirty laundry is made smaller, it doesn’t seem as intimidating. Try splitting the room into sections so as to speed up the process. They won’t get as overwhelmed by a big mess when you tell them to pick up their clothes. Breaking large tasks down like this takes less time than arguing with them to clean their room.
Provide Guidance
Some kids might not be cleaning their room because they do not know how to do it. Ask your kids if they need help and provide the necessary guidance they need.Lend a hand
Lend a hand if they need any help. Begin with demonstrating how it is done then lending a hand until they are grown enough to do so on their own. It will feel more like a team game and you’ll be able to teach them just what you expect them to do.
Assist but don’t make it a habit
Encouraging the child to clean their room is one thing, but doing it for older kids is not to be encouraged. If your kid is old enough to be expected to clean their room, don’t do it for them. When kids know that you will clean their rooms anytime they make a mess, your authority will be undermined. Once a child is in elementary school, he or she should be capable of doing most of the jobs involved in keeping their rooms clean and tidy with little or no help.
Reward the child when they get it right
When a child properly cleans his room, reward them with a treat but this shouldn’t go on for long. Encourage the behavior you desire by using consequences linked to tasks. If your children do at least some work on keeping their rooms clean, then you can give them a privilege as a reward. When they don’t, make sure that they know the privilege is being put on hold until they clean their room.
Children will always tend to make their own choices no matter what. However, they can be guided. As long as you are helping kids solve problems by using appropriate rewards and other consequences as a way of motivating them, these kids will continue to learn what they can.
How do you help your children keep their rooms clean? Share your strategies with me in the comments.
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