You'll never believe this... but I was walking around the house, and I saw an empty dishwasher, a sparkling sink, a swept up kitchen, a freshly vacuumed living room, an organized pantry... AND the kids toys weren't all over the floor. The beds were made. The laundry was kept up with. Everything was beautiful.My kids were smiling. We were all working together. Birds were chirping.
It all was so wonderful... too good to be true.
And then I woke up.
Lets get real here -- teaching kids to clean is a real chore, but it doesn't have to feel like you are trying to heard cats.
If you start teaching kids to tidy up when they are toddlers up to when they are about 8 years old, you have it made. Why are you here? Go to this post instead.
If your kids are under the age of 8, YOU NEED TO TRAIN THEM!
Step One: CONSISTENCY!!
EVERY TIME your child makes a mess -- they need to pick it up... but don't expect them to do it all by themselves at first.
Work with your child, don't just bark orders. Get down there and find all of the Legos, My Little Pony figures, dinosaurs, and all of the Hot Wheels cars. They'll get the hint, and since kids aim to please...
*Step Three: REINFORCE FOR THE GOOD!!
Shortstack is 4 years old. He cleans up after himself better than Brainy and Artsy. Its crazy. You know what he does it for? High Fives! Not even kidding. :) So reinforce the Good! It shouldn't cost you money. When Shortstack does something really awesome, we do have a prize bin for him. Just little things that we bought from the Dollar Store, little prizes he can earn. He keeps his room tidy. Our girls don't. But for kids that just won't clean... there is another post for that.
Follow steps one through three until its just routine. Thats how you can teach kids under 8 how to clean. :) Here is Part Two!!
Good luck
* I really need to start having Wifey take pictures for my blog. Ehh...
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