Clean-Up
Hints
By Sandy Fleming
It's been a great day;
the kids have had a wonderful time playing and creating.
Now it's time for clean-up, and everybody scatters or,
worse yet, complains and whines. Many parents despair at this
point,
give up, and clean up the mess themselves. Here are some ideas
to
help you help your children become responsible citizens and clean
up
their own messes!
After a craft project
has generated lots of scraps on the floor and
table, do a quick visual survey of the area. Estimate how many
scraps each person needs to pick up to clean the mess. Now,
ask
each
child for that many "tickets" before he or she can
leave the area to
do something else.
Sometimes cleaning up
a large area of clutter can seem overwhelming.
Try asking your domestic engineer to put away a specific number
of
items. Instead of "Clean up this mess!" try "Put
away twenty
things." Repeat as often as necessary. Something about the
finite
number helps kids (and even adults) see the end of the task,
and so
feel less overwhelmed. Your clean-up crew is more likely to feel
successful and get the job done in this way.
Turn clean-up into a treasure
hunt with young children! Ask your
hunter to find all of the items that are red, or that can be
worn on
the feet, or that are round, or whatever other category you choose.
When an item is found, have the child put it in its proper
place.
Older children can play the same game with a written list of
items
to find. You can even turn the whole event into a contest if
you
wish by challenging children to find the most of each type of
item
that needs to be cleaned up.
Finally, encourage a clean-up
routine at several points throughout your
child's day. Cleaning up small messes after lunch or before bed
or
TV will promote personal responsibility and help prevent larger
chaos.
Sandy Fleming
is an educator, author and workshop facilitator. She resides
in southern Michigan with her husband and three daughters.
Sandy leads workshops for daycare providers and parents
in the region, tutors students, volunteers for Girl Scouts
and her church, and teaches online classes for adults and
children. She loves to make new friends, so please drop
her an e-mail at kids@busyparentsonline.com
