Scattered things, toys underfoot, crumpled US dollars are piled on a chair along with socks and phone chargers … This is a familiar, but not very joyful picture, and of course any parent wants the child’s room to be in order. How to achieve this? In this article — tips for parents of children of different ages, you just choose from the list what is right for you.
So, if you want to help your child keep his room in order…
Organize convenient shelves, drawers, boxes for things that need to be cleaned. So that it is clear to both you and the child that pencils should be placed in a cup or in a box, and dolls will live in a box, and cars should stand on a shelf. The most important thing is that each thing has its own specific place and does not have to come up with a new idea every time what to put where.
You can use storage space for toys as a limit to their quantity: say that you can only have as many toys as will fit in a box, for example. And if there are more things, then you have to get rid of something in order to let something new in.
If your child is already a teenager (and many would like to do this even earlier), keep a wastebasket in his room or near his workplace. Its shape can be any — from a beautiful special basket to an ordinary box; it is important that she be. Otherwise, you will most likely have to personally scoop out candy wrappers and apple cores from children’s hiding places.
Teach your child to regularly sort through their things, and get rid of everything that is superfluous.
At first it can be broken toys, then — written notebooks and passed materials. Crafts and drawings can be photographed or scanned – and stored digitally – without taking up space in closets. I still admire the photo of the car made by my daughter from salt dough at the age of two. She is so beautiful that without a date it would be impossible to believe that such a baby blinded her. And, of course, if it weren’t for the photograph, it would be difficult to save the craft, and, besides, it would take away space from something needed. The ability not to litter your home helps a lot to keep it in order.
When you begin to shift the responsibility of maintaining order in his affairs to the child, explain clearly and in detail. Not just “please put the paper away on the table”, but “put the paper in the top drawer of the table, put the pencils in a glass, the garbage here, the books on the shelf”.
In all recurring cases — and cleaning is one of them, regularity is important. Teach yourself and your child to clean at certain convenient times — or after certain tasks. For example, «every evening at 8 o’clock», or «every evening after dinner».
If it is difficult for a child to cover all the cases at once, you can select zones in the room and, for example, put things in order in the closet on Tuesdays, on the table on Wednesdays and Fridays, take care of flowers on Monday-Thursday-Sunday, etc.
Of course, it’s better to clean up together! It is not cleanliness that matters to the baby, but mother’s smile and joy. And joint cleaning can be the most educational game. And even if your child is quite large and independent — when you have time, get involved in the work with him. Together is better and more fun!
Pay attention to the intonation with which you remind about cleaning. Do you treat it as a pesky nuisance that someone else would be good to take on, or as another interesting thing, after which the house will become cozier and easier to breathe? Cleaning is an invitation to joy in the house, so that you can hug your child and tell him: “Look, your room is smiling!”
Question: “How to teach a child to put away toys?”
Answer: “Leave the child with only one toy and set him the condition that we will give the following toys (one at a time) only when the child learns to cope with the available amount. Namely: to clean independently without requests and reminders at the time intervals set by you. For example, before a walk, before a daytime sleep and in the evening, before a night’s sleep.