how do I get my 5 yr old son to clean his room? I don't seem to motivate him to clean his room. I always end up cleaning it myself and it's getting old.
Hi,
maybe this idea will help. I start off by helping. ( thats what I did my son is also 5) Then after doing that the next day I will have him do it himself. I always say to him that he cleans up at school with no help. Well u dont need help at home. And this is ur stuff..
N.
tell him you will throw away all of his toys if he doesn't. That always worked for me when I was younger. But you really have to follow through if he doesn't do it..i mean, don't just throw them away, that's a lot money down the drain haha..but put 'em in a garbage bag or something (in front of him), then hide them for a little while. Perhaps when you give them back eventually he might figure out that he can get past that little trick, though. Basically I would just try taking away privileges..tv time, certain snacks, something he really likes. The best thing is to just be persistent. Really take away the privilege, don't just say you will. And continue you to do this for everything.
Good Luck!
My greatest recent discoveries are these 2 websites: www.flylady.com, and www.HouseFairy.org. Both address the never-ending chaos that we Mamas have... both dealing with our own clutter, and helping our children deal with theirs. Lots of practical advice on breaking tasks down into manageable pieces, dividing and conquering a room by dividing it into zones, and control journals to refer back to for Mamas and kids. I am working hard at implementing this in my home... It helps a lot. Most stuff is free, but some accessories have a fee. Good luck!
I just read the other posts... the thing I have learned from reading at the above websites is that if we start punishing our children for their messes or lack of organization, they will start hating "keeping house" just as much as we do (we learned from our Moms). Make it fun, have a plan and a routine. Baby steps.
Maybe if you give him an incentive, like giving him a little money $2, $3 dollars. Make a chart and give him certain things he has to do for the week. Get some stickers to put next to the things he does. And if he does everything he gets the reward at the end of the week! Good Luck!
Hi
I have four kids, two boys 13 & 6, two girls 10 & 7
Each year at the start of school we start a new chore list
This year the kids were given a piece of paper Monday thru Sunday
They picked from a backet chores for daily, once a week, twice a week and all were given the same once a month chore
I let the kids pick what days they could do their once a week chores and what days for the twice a week
They thought it was fun to pick and fun to choose their days
We now change the chores monthly so they don't get board with the same chores
This way not only their rooms are done but some small things around the house too
We don't do allowances or any rewards it is simply what keeps a family together and helping the family, as motivation.
Good Luck
D.
LOL!!! My son is 8 and I still have to bribe and threaten punishment to get him to clean his room. Just when he is done, no more than 30 minutes later, it's a mess again. Now my 3 year old is starting this messy habit. I guess you can never win with kids. I hate to think what his room will look like as he gets older.
Please if you find the secret to getting kids to clean their rooms, bottle it and sell it!! LOL!!
I don't know if this will help but I had a friend who kept asking her son to clean up his toys and threatened to throw them all away. Well after asking for days, she finally brought the garbage barrel in and made him watch as the garbage men came and got his toys. Personally I think this is a bit much. I have thrown toys away but most of the time I will take them out of the garbage which defeats the purpose too....
I am thinking of putting the toys in a box in the attic or basement for a set period of time....at least they'll know the toys are here but they cannot play with them....either that or give them to charity......
Good Luck,,,it's a problem we all face.
I have made it a game with my 4 and 7 year old. What I do is to tell the kids that we are going to do a game, the clean up game. Then I set a timer for 3 or 5 minutes and tell them ready - set - GO! While the run around and get things off the floor, I do a running (sports)commentary: John is in the lead now - I see Jaimie is pulling ahead - uh oh, John is goofing off now, 2 minutes to go, etc while watching them have fun.
If the kids haven't finished cleaning up by the time the timer is ringing, I declare one kid the winner of that round and reset the timer for another round. This works well if the siblings are a little competitive. With only one kid I suggest he or she tries to beat the timer or do the clean-up with mom as a fellow competitor and commentator. My youngest will actually ask to do the clean-up game now.
Hope this will help putting some fun into the chore,
N.
