Parents often ask me, "how do I get my child to be cooperative, helpful and clean up?" It may seem like quite a challenge, but if we start teaching our children these behaviors early, they will continue them through adolescence (great for us parents) and onto adulthood (good for everyone). Today, I will discuss specifically how to encourage children to clean up their toys.
Children want to be helpful, they want to be involved and they want to do what we are doing. Here are some tips on how to make clean up time go a little smoother. (1) Always give them a warning before it is time to clean up. Younger children may need a timer since they haven't mastered the concept of time. (2) Children thrive on routine so incorporate it into your daily activities. I like to use it as a pre-bath activity. It signals that it is the end of play time and the beginning of the bedtime routine. (3) It is never too early to start the routine - don't worry if your child puts things back in the wrong place - it is the process of cleaning up that is more important than achieving a perfect outcome. (4) Make it fun! Sing songs, make it into a game or dance while you clean. (5) Be realistic with the expectations - young children still need guidance so join your child and help them clean up - it will make it more enjoyable, it will go faster and you will be teaching him/her valuable skills and responsiblity. (6) Give them small, specific tasks, one at a time. For example, "Please put all the blocks in the blue box. Thank you. Now, put the blue box on the shelf, please. Thank you for helping me clean up."
If the above suggestions don't work, your child may need a little extra encouragement. You can try a reward or a sticker chart. You can also encourage them by saying, "as soon as we finish cleaning up, we can go outside to the park." Letting your child know that we have to clean up before going to the park will likely encourage them to clean up (just make sure that you are ok with skipping the park if he/she decides not to clean up). Keep at it - consistency is key!
There is a great chart in The No-Cry Discipline Solution by Elizabeth Pantley that describes specific ways to encourage cooperative behavior at each developmental stage so that by the time you have a teenager you can minimze many of the misbehaviors such as leaving a mess, forgetting to do chores and even talking back and bickering.
Good luck and happy cleaning!
Children want to be helpful, they want to be involved and they want to do what we are doing. Here are some tips on how to make clean up time go a little smoother. (1) Always give them a warning before it is time to clean up. Younger children may need a timer since they haven't mastered the concept of time. (2) Children thrive on routine so incorporate it into your daily activities. I like to use it as a pre-bath activity. It signals that it is the end of play time and the beginning of the bedtime routine. (3) It is never too early to start the routine - don't worry if your child puts things back in the wrong place - it is the process of cleaning up that is more important than achieving a perfect outcome. (4) Make it fun! Sing songs, make it into a game or dance while you clean. (5) Be realistic with the expectations - young children still need guidance so join your child and help them clean up - it will make it more enjoyable, it will go faster and you will be teaching him/her valuable skills and responsiblity. (6) Give them small, specific tasks, one at a time. For example, "Please put all the blocks in the blue box. Thank you. Now, put the blue box on the shelf, please. Thank you for helping me clean up."
If the above suggestions don't work, your child may need a little extra encouragement. You can try a reward or a sticker chart. You can also encourage them by saying, "as soon as we finish cleaning up, we can go outside to the park." Letting your child know that we have to clean up before going to the park will likely encourage them to clean up (just make sure that you are ok with skipping the park if he/she decides not to clean up). Keep at it - consistency is key!
There is a great chart in The No-Cry Discipline Solution by Elizabeth Pantley that describes specific ways to encourage cooperative behavior at each developmental stage so that by the time you have a teenager you can minimze many of the misbehaviors such as leaving a mess, forgetting to do chores and even talking back and bickering.
Good luck and happy cleaning!
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