Kids mess is driving me nuts!!

hollyh

My eldest never quite got the idea of putting something away before getting something else out. I used to tidy up once he'd gone to bed and i think i made a rod for my own back as he's 13 now and hasn't changed:cool:. With my youngest he was the same until he was 3 and he eventually got the concept of putting things away before getting more out. I don't have the massive mess that i used to have any more and he knows he's got to tidy up before we go out or has a bath. I hardly have to put toys away now as he does it himself. He can be sneaky though if he can't be bothered to tidy up he'll go upstairs and play up there instead.:cool:

mrcow

You'll look back in years to come and yearn for that mess!

Bottom line is that if you are not there to supervise what she's getting out (and putting away), then you're going to have mess.

Boxes are good - they make tidying very easy.

I always involve my children in tidying up. If the mess is bad, then I'll hold whatever box stuff is going into and they'll put the stuff away. It may take longer, but it makes me feel a little less like an unpaid cleaner.

Alleycat

Reiterating what the previous posters have said but the following helps in our house (dd is 5):-

Boxes, preferably with lids so you can stack them. They will get used to which toys go in which box and it's so easy to just chuck stuff in them. Pens in pencil case/tub, paper in another, barbies, random toys, duplo etc.

Tidy up song - they had this at nursery and we used the same one at home. Went along the lines of tidy up and put away, put away, put away. Tidy up and put away, ready for another day. We'd sing this together as we tidied.

Only one big thing out at a time. So if DD has a puzzle out and goes for something else like her dolls, I will remind her that we put one away before the next. Once they get into a routine of doing this, it becomes second nature. I can see the difference between DD and her cousin who is a few months younger. She flits from one thing to another leaving a trail of carnage behind her as she has not been taught any different.

I also do the mad tidy up at the end of the day though as invariably there will still be mess but as long as things are vaguely straight I don't worry too much. Will have a major sort out now and again and do a decent clean up once a week usually. When her friends come to play however the place is an absolute bomb site at the end of it. I figure that it's only once every couple of weeks and they are having fun so why spoil it. DD does have to help tidy up though once the friend has gone home.

LJM

i always pop out a few items at a time to play with then if they want something else these are put away before anything else comes out. i had a system where a rotated toys so they wernt always playing with same thing id leave some downstairs for a week they swap over

sooz

Bin bag

Mine are slightly older. We already have the boxes, shelves, lids etc. They have 10 minutes before bed to get everything back into the boxes, or I come upstairs with the bin bag. Anything still on the floor goes into the bag.

Memory_Girl

Ooooh!! Been there done that - still wearing the t-shirt:rotfl: Hope this helps.

Please stick with the "putting away the first thing before taking out the second" it really does pay dividends. Our kindy class at Children's House learns how to do "useful work" as soon as they go in at 2yrs 10 mths.

They can take out materials but are gently shown how to put them away before going on to the next thing. They are shown how to wash and dry dishes, clean clothes (the old fashionnned way using a scrubbing board and tin basin), how to sweep up using a dust-pan and brush and a sweeping brush - even how to iron (using a proper heat-up iron with a minature ironing board) NB This is VERY closely supervised.

They progress onto using knives to cut up snacks, carrying jugs of water and setting the table (with full cutlery) for lunch and cleaning away afterwards. Most of the kids can do this all before they are three.

What I've found (now that the eldest is 9, the BB is 25mths so just watching the process happen again) is that those parents who implemented the same kind of environment at home ended up with much tidier kids. Not all the time, they are not some kind of Stepford kids:rotfl:, but generally.

I'm a single Mum to 2. Last weekend I'd finally had enough of sharing "my space" the living room, in the evening with a jumble of kiddie bits. But looking around I realised that its a mess because there wasn't enough storage for the Baby to use on his own.

So I talked to both kids about how we were going to set up our own Childrens House area at home. I pulled 3 full length bookcases into the hallway, took the doors off the bottoms and got Grandad to securely bracket them to the walls.

I've now only put on the shelves the toys appropriate for his age / interest now and tucked the rest away for later. There is now a space on a shelf for his puzzles, his books, his videos, his soft toys.

The good thing is

1. They are all out of my sight in the evening

2. During the day - as Ileave the living-room I can also scoop up and return something to it's place if he is finished playing with it usually on my way to make a cup of tea.

3. Older DS recognises the structure from school - and every night after dinner when we have the 5 minute pick-up (whilst running the baby's bath) he finds it really easy to return everything to the spaces on the shelves.

Now if my kids could just TEACH ME how to keep my Cd's in order:rotfl:
Memorygirl

xmaslolly76

sooz wrote: »

Bin bag

Mine are slightly older. We already have the boxes, shelves, lids etc. They have 10 minutes before bed to get everything back into the boxes, or I come upstairs with the bin bag. Anything still on the floor goes into the bag.

Ha ive used that one a few times when they have been little so&so's and refuse to tidy up its amazing how quickly their favorite toys get put away :-)

Gingham_Ribbon

LOL Life with toddlers. I've posted similar myself more than once. Some things that have helped us:

We got one of these for the kids' bedroom and every drawer is labelled: animals, people, cars, trains, other vehicles, aquadraw, music, tools etc.

We got rid of the shelves in the livingroom and now have only one small area for toys in there. Everything else goes upstairs or in the cellar head. The cellar head has paints, craft stuff, jigsaws and other messy stuff that I don't want them to get at on their own. We put that back when they're done but otherwise the toys just get dumped back in the drawers at night.

We do clearouts fairly regularly and pass on things they don't play with any more.

We keep the books upstairs and they bring down no more than a handful at any one time.

smartpicture

Lalaladybird wrote: »

what seems to happen everyday is that if she is managing to entertain herself I leave her to it so I can get on with the dishes or the cooking etc. She has always wanted a lot of interaction and attention and rarely finds something to do without me suggesting it..."Do you want your playdough/colouring book/want to play outside..." and then she gets bored after 20 minutes so I quickly suggest the next activity so I can finish what I am doing, hence the mess piling up.

Instead of constantly trying to get her to entertain herself while you get on with chores, try involving her in the chores. At that age, it's still considered fun. Okay, it will take a bit longer, but the chores get done and important lessons get learned.

If you're washing up, give her her own small bowl and her own things to wash up, maybe on a plastic sheet on the floor or at the table, and lots of praise for doing it. No more toys out until washing up is finished. If you're preparing dinner, get her to help, either real help or pretend help. The best entertainment for her is being with mum anyway. Tidying up should definitely be a joint exercise, not you running around after her.

It may take a bit more time & effort on your part in the short-term, but it will pay massive dividends in the long-term.

Rockporkchop

I was having a similar problem with my triplet toddlers. I bought five large plastic storage boxes, then sorted through all of their toys and filled each box with an assortment of different ones. I rotate the boxes so each day they are allowed to get out one box and play with everything in that box. It works out really well as they don't see and play with the same toys every day.

I take them to a different toddler group or soft play every morning then we come home for lunch and their afternoon nap so there is no mess to clear up from the morning. After the afternoon play session they help me put away their toys before they have their dinner at 5.00.

I have never given them juice as I don't think it is good for them so they only have water in beakers and I'm not too bothered if it gets spilt. I must confess I don't have play doh etc in the house but take them to messy play every week so they can create havoc to their hearts content.

I tend to throw something in the slow cooker when they are having their lunchtime nap and then do all the washing up and then our dinner is ready as soon as they are in bed, with the rest used for them for lunch the next day.

Sometimes I do get stressed about the chaos they create but I then remember all too clearly how miserable I was in my extremely tidy house for so many years before they did come along.