A
Allegra
Guest
I’m losing my mind here! I have spent the last four hours trying to get my 5yo and 3yo to pick up their stuff. After a mere two weeks of summer break, our house has been trashed and it’s not like we haven’t been picking up a bit each day. The fact is, my kids leave a wake of destruction with every move they make. If left to their own devices, they throw their toys on the floor. They throw their clothes on the floor. They leave their dishes on the table. They manage to leave dishes in random places between the table and the sink! They even make messes while they are cleaning. It’s as if they don’t have the attention span to finish even one single task unless it’s something they want to do.
During the school year, they are not home during the day, so it’s more manageable. We’ve already packed up most of their toys and only get out a few things at a time. We are able to get them to keep their rooms reasonable by telling them to pick up ten toys first before they get anything they want. (treats, games, one of the toys we packed up that we now have to get out for them, time to play outside, TV, etc) It’s a lot of struggle, but it’s doable.
The summer is another story. They can wreck a room in one minute and it takes hours for them to clean it up. I’m trying to keep them outside as much as possible, but I have an infant to take care of. My 5yo is actually the worst of the two. She decide she needs some toy and will dump everything in her room out, trying to find it. She will change her clothes multiple times a day, throwing clean clothes on the floor and leaving the clothes she had been wearing all over the house. There’s a pile of hair ties accumulating in almost every room of the house. When she’s told to put something away, we’ll find it in the middle of the floor, two or three feet away from where it’s supposed to be put. When she goes in the bathroom, she turns soap and toothpaste into artistic medium. She never closes the bottle either. She will make herself some toast, forget she made it, leave it on a plate somewhere, and then make herself more toast. I think she has ADD. They’ve both lost so many privileges and had their toys taken away, and while they get upset, they don’t seem to remember it when they are trashing the joint.
Ironically, the only thing they are good at putting away are their shoes. They’re almost obsessed with it. It’s ironic because when I was a kid, I was pretty good of keeping my messes reined into my own space, but the thing that made my parents the most mad was that I would leave my shoes wherever I took them off. Shoes are the only thing my kids WILL put away diligently!
Anyone have any advice? Do I need to strip their rooms entirely?
During the school year, they are not home during the day, so it’s more manageable. We’ve already packed up most of their toys and only get out a few things at a time. We are able to get them to keep their rooms reasonable by telling them to pick up ten toys first before they get anything they want. (treats, games, one of the toys we packed up that we now have to get out for them, time to play outside, TV, etc) It’s a lot of struggle, but it’s doable.
The summer is another story. They can wreck a room in one minute and it takes hours for them to clean it up. I’m trying to keep them outside as much as possible, but I have an infant to take care of. My 5yo is actually the worst of the two. She decide she needs some toy and will dump everything in her room out, trying to find it. She will change her clothes multiple times a day, throwing clean clothes on the floor and leaving the clothes she had been wearing all over the house. There’s a pile of hair ties accumulating in almost every room of the house. When she’s told to put something away, we’ll find it in the middle of the floor, two or three feet away from where it’s supposed to be put. When she goes in the bathroom, she turns soap and toothpaste into artistic medium. She never closes the bottle either. She will make herself some toast, forget she made it, leave it on a plate somewhere, and then make herself more toast. I think she has ADD. They’ve both lost so many privileges and had their toys taken away, and while they get upset, they don’t seem to remember it when they are trashing the joint.
Ironically, the only thing they are good at putting away are their shoes. They’re almost obsessed with it. It’s ironic because when I was a kid, I was pretty good of keeping my messes reined into my own space, but the thing that made my parents the most mad was that I would leave my shoes wherever I took them off. Shoes are the only thing my kids WILL put away diligently!
Anyone have any advice? Do I need to strip their rooms entirely?
for some duties,she also is to gain a little privilege( a special drawer, turn off the light a little bit later and stay reading, a little something…).