My kids dont put anything away

amother

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 8:10 pm

My kids are 7 6 and 4. They don't put anything away after they finish using it and its driving me mad. My husband is putting them to bed now and their entire day (well whatever I didnt clean up already) is all over the house. The two older ones who bathe alone, their clothing is on the bathroom floor. There are apple cores on the table from the snack they had before bed. The dress up dolls are strewn across the dining room table. Earlier today together with a neighbor they had a wonderful time playing with playdoh. Next thing I know it they are at the neighbors house and the mess is left for yours truly.

When I make charts, my 7 year old does everything he supposed to. The chart can be a week or a month long. Once the chart is finished, back to being a slob. Am I supposed to have continuous chart to throw your breakfast bowl in the garbage and clothing in the hamper??? How do you teach kids to clean up after themselves. I am going out of mind.

amother

Gray

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 8:12 pm

I don’t do charts. But I do have to constantly say. Which section does your laundry go into. Where do your shoes belong. Pls put away the makers. Etc etc etc I thought that would be age appropriate

amother

Apricot

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 8:13 pm

When I was fed up by my kids mess, I told them that whatever they leave out will go into the garbage. I followed through and they learnt their lesson.

lucky14

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 8:27 pm

I just keep reminding. It's something I have to be on top of or it doesn't get done. So after bath time I remind him that the clothing goes downstairs. After breakfast I remind him that the milk goes in the fridge and the cereal bowl in the dishwasher. At this point my son puts his dishes away around 40% of the time after eating without any prompting. for my son any mess made in his playroom is left for him to clean up. I don't do it for him. That playdough would stay out and he would have to put it away before he did anything else. Usually there are messes at the end of the day that I didn't notice earlier and I just leave it as is until the next day and he cleans it up before he plays with anything else.

amother

Honeydew

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 8:36 pm

After supper do a 10 minute mandatory clean up, put the timer and motivate them to finish before the timer rings.
Or say each kid picks up 30 items and put it away!
If they do it all week reward them with a prize on friday! Or a ice cream party! Make a huge big deal! Don't forget to tell your family (when kids can hear) how helpful your children are!!
Don't tell them in advance, you don't want it to become a bribe but a reward for a job well done!!!
If you and your husband are both available to do it during those 10 minutes they will cooperate better and house will be almost all clean when you're done!!

silverlining3

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 10:49 pm

Policy I try very hard to follow through, you cannot take out more than 2 playthings at a time. You want a 3rd thing? 1st pack away what you played with before.

Also, yes, I'm on top of them with cleaning away in general. Like poster above said, put your clothing in the hamper, your shoes at your bedside, your homework in your briefcase, and so on.

flowerpower

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 10:52 pm

My kids need constant constant constant reminders. So I try to be on top it it. If they ask or take something I ask if the thing they played before is packed away yet... at this age they need to be encouraged to clean up after themselves.

amother

Silver

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 10:57 pm

Op I have 2 girls, 6&4. We are new to this but recently it’s been getting under my skin, I clean up after them all day! So we started with just the coats. When we walk in coats go on the hook. I remind them as we walk in before they land on the floor. Shabbos and sun are hard cuz we’re in and out a lot vs during the week we really just come home once at the end of the day and that’s it. We did pretty well this weekend, with one mini fit... guess that’s part of the growing pains ..

#BestBubby

Mon, Jan 04 2021, 1:16 am

Prepare a bag per kid with a variety of yummy candy: jelly beans, skittles, m & ms, taffy, wafer, etc.

Every time they forget to put something away, you will do it - but they lose one treat.

Make sure to announce: DD left her dishes on the table so I am taking one treat out of her bag.

At bedtime, they can have whatever treats are left.