How to Get Kids to Clean their Rooms

Haven't met one parent yet that doesn't tell me one of the biggest challenges they face is having their child clean or keep their rooms clean.

Ages to start at and things that hinder
Depending on the age of the child you can expect them to put their own toys away and to make their own beds. Some of the biggest obstacles to a child cleaning their room is lack of motivation, no predefined storage areas, no examples to follow.

Starting young is the key
Children need to model behavior in order to learn it. When they are very young (toddlers even) begin to put the toys away in front of them while they help you. If you make this a routine part of playtime at this age, they will learn to put things away at a later age.

Daily chore chart
If you haven`t done this, be patient with the process. A daily chore chart goes a long way only if you the parent are consistent in putting check marks or handing out stickers.

For every action there is a reaction
Positive action must receive positive reaction or reward immediately. Doing it the next day will not work. Children live in the now.

Every child is different
Realise that some children are neater than others to begin with and don`t compare siblings to each other as this leads to resentment.

How to deal with the consistently messy
If a child consistently refuses to clean their room, they you can refuse special privileges such as computer time, special outings, treats etc. It won’t be long before there is a change as long as you stick to what you have said.

Patience is a virtue
Losing your patience is the worse thing to do because it doesn't work anyway. The root habit must be changed from the inside out in the child and this takes time. Realise that learning to clean their rooms may seem as unnatural to them as writing with your left hand seems to a right handed person.

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