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For those who live in a house where the kids room is upstairs, do your kids like to bring their toys downstairs to the living room and do u have a hard time having them taking their toys back to their upstairs room? How do you train them to do so? do you just leave the toy box downstairs in the living room, so you can watch your child while staying in the living room at the same time? Thanks.
I assume you are talking about toddlers. When mine were toddlers I had a small toy chest downstairs and would make the kids clean up before leaving the room. We would sing the "Clean-up" song to make it fun.
Start by having them clean up in one area before you try to have them lugging stuff up and down the stairs. When the box downstairs gets too full, have them help you carry some of it back up. Best to have them start cleaning up after themselves at a young age. If you wait too long it will be a battle!
Best to have them start cleaning up after themselves at a young age. If you wait too long it will be a battle!
thanks for the advice. let me ask you guys this, when my son plays till late night, even I was too tired to tell him to clean up after himself, so I end up saying let's do it tommorow. I know it's bad, but then the next day, the toys are still out of the box...as toys get all over the place at home, I end up not bothering to pick them up, because it'll be like that again the second day...I'm bad, but I'm just so tired cleaning up for my son and my husband too.. help please.
I started very young with all three of mine. We would pick up the toys together when they were toddlers. By Pre-K age I would help them get started and then they would finish on their own. By 1st grade I expected them to pick up with out being told more than once.
My youngest is now in second grade. he no longer has a toy box downstairs and only one toy or box of legos are allowed downstairs at a time. He has to take what he is playing with back up stairs to bring another down. He does this without being told to most of the time. If friends come over and help make the mess, I make them all clean up. If it is a really big mess, like we were making a big "fort" or something like that, then I help.
I would start out like that. Clean up with him first. Then move to helping him get started, then to just being told. You just have to be diligent and make him do it each and every time.
Organize your time and your household, then establish a routine for all of you, and stick to it rigorously. Two weeks of doing it is all it takes, and it becomes EASY for everyone.
Organize your time and your household, then establish a routine for all of you, and stick to it rigorously. Two weeks of doing it is all it takes, and it becomes EASY for everyone.
This is great advice, unfortunately, it takes all kinds of people in this world, and I for one am not a routine person. I have tried, multiple times, on multiple things. Not going to happen. Sooo... with that in mind, here is my advice to the OP, in case you are a lot like me.
I certainly have toys all over the place! And clothes, and dishes! My huband is just as bad as my boys! Okay, rant over. I picked up a snazzy red plastic pail with yellow handle at a thrift store. I keep it in the kitchen closet and then hand it off to my oldest at night. He likes filling it up. Then he takes it to the toy room. We haven't gotten to the point of putting the toys away in the toy room yet... You might also find a fun pick-up song to put on the radio everynight and make it a part of the bedtime routine--pick-up song, jammies, bathroom, bed. (Hey, the bedtime routine is the only one I have mastered so far!)
I wasn't much of a routine person at first, either. But start with the bedtime routine. You will be so thankful. I was! Like crazyme said: pick up toys, jammies, brush teeth & potty, then bed. My advice is to pick a fair bedtime and stick to it. Kids behave better and are happier when they have a good sleep schedule. In my opinion, kids should be in bed by 9pm.
You sound like my one girlfriend. She couldn't figure out why her kids acted up so much, wouldn't listen and whined constantly. Well, it was because they were up way too late and were not getting enough sleep! When she started sticking to a bed time, everyone was happier!
I admit, there are usually toys here and there around the first floor. Periodically I go around and grab their things, and then throw them into baskets on the stairs. I have a blue one for my son and a pink one for my daughter. These are for small stray items.
If they bring down a bunch of stuff, or dump out something like legos, they have to pick it up themselves, and certainly before bed or I wouldn't be able to sit in the mess later on.
When my children were toddlers, I used to have a small toybox in the living room. When they were done, they just threw all the toys in there or an adult did it for them after they were asleep.
I do a fair bit of cleaning up after my kids, but I also make them clean up after themselves too. They both understand that their rooms should be neat and tidy. I am home during the day and cannot stand to see miscellaneous crap laying around so that is when I am usually throwing things into their baskets.
They still need a lot of direction when it comes to picking up, though. Supervision, reminding, encouraging, praising, etc... When it is time to empty their baskets, I make a game out of it by handing them each something from their baskets and reminding it where it goes, then they run and put it away and come back for more.
If you really want the child to do it all the time, I agree with the people who said make it part of your routine, maybe after dinner they have to clean up before getting jammies on, then they can play with one thing before bedtime comes.
As for making it part of the bedtime routine, I myself wouldn't do that as when it is time for bed I like to cut out all other chores, because my kids will use any excuse to dilly dally, so it's just, brush teeth, books, bed. If I made them start to clean one thing would lead to another and that woudl delay bed time.
thanks for the advice. let me ask you guys this, when my son plays till late night, even I was too tired to tell him to clean up after himself, so I end up saying let's do it tommorow. I know it's bad, but then the next day, the toys are still out of the box...as toys get all over the place at home, I end up not bothering to pick them up, because it'll be like that again the second day...I'm bad, but I'm just so tired cleaning up for my son and my husband too.. help please.
You are not bad - just need a routine and a fresh start!
When the boys were small, they had an upstairs/downstairs basket. If they didn't get put away, they at least had to make it to the basket. The next morning, I wasn't stepping on toys, and they were in a basket easy to pack up the steps for putting away.
I made them put everything away after they made their beds (yep, even at ages 3 or so they can do this to some extent), and then they started fresh for the day.
We have since moved, but still have an upstairs. I have continued this with my own upstairs/downstairs basket ( I have a bum knee and try to limit steps) and it works great. I am finding with my 6 month old to have a basket on every level (three floors here), as I never know where we will end up. His toy box is in his room, where the majority go, but when we leave the room we played in, everything goes in, and tomorrow we start again.
I am probably too obsessive about this, but tired or not - I hate waking up to a mess. Staying organized keeps me sane, and by starting them young (Morgan knows at his age - amazing - we put away the towels and straighten the bathroom after his bath and before his bottle), it's not so hard when they get older and you REALLY have messes!
I just wish I could get my husband to put HIS stuff away! Bought him a new basket yesterday...we'll see!
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help please.
