4 year old, trashing bedroom!

swizzle_2

My youngest DS is 4 1/2 years and a bit of a handful, the other weekend I was sick of the state of his bedroom- so I tidied it up.

It is now a mess again, I have just told him that I want him to help me tidy it up- but he says he can`t find anything when it`s tidy and will just trash it again!

He has adouble bedroom to himself and lots of storage.

Any idea for the best paln of attack?

Plus on top of this I am thinking xmas is around the corner- what will I do when he has more stuff?

Thanks

funky-footprints

If your son has plenty of storage maybe take everything out onto the landing and ask him to help you put it away in certain places. My daughter has one box in her room for all her dressing up things ...a treasure chest for all her bracelets, a drawer in her chest of drawers for scarves and hats etc, a little box for clip on earing (yuk) etc everything has a home that she chose, its easy enough for her to find what she wants and put it back after.

when my daughter (coming 4) trashes (normal case of over indulged play ) her room, she tidies it herself. She knows she has too.

She knows if she doesnt tidy up after herself im not going to take her swimming on a wednesday. Evil me !!

Mrs_Optimist

my DS is in his bedroom at this moment with DH attempting to clear some floor space so that they can get to his chest of drawers to get dressed! I too am forever clearing up after him and leave it as long as possible until it becomes a danger. I am hoping he will grow out of it.

wigginsmum

Tell him that everything which is not put away will be thrown away (and make sure you follow through on it), and don't buy him lots of stuff for Christmas - give him experiences and days out instead. That's what we did with DH's children.

They don't grow out of it until you teach them it's their responsibility - start that young and you might just survive the teenage years.

Rachie_B

the rule for my kids is only one or 2 lots of toys allowed out at one time eg tub of cars and tub of trains

otherwise before i know it every storage tub / basket of toys is on the floor and it takes forever to put away !

so having this rule means theres only ever so much "mess" @ one time lol

also i time my youngest ( also 4.5 yrs) how long it takes him to tidy up he seems to like this game

also helps if your son knows and can reach where everything belongs then he can tidy away his own stuff

use every available space for storage ,ceiling hanging,underbed,shelves,stacking storage etc

mountainofdebt

why not let him leave his room a mess?

And when he can't find something or has broken something by standing on it, tell him that's why you ask him to put it away?

Personally I've found that if my son 'suffers' as a result of him not doing something I've asked him to do then the next time I ask him to do it, he knows I'm not nagging for the sake of nagging but there is a valid reason behind it.

Plus I get less stressed as well.

As for Christmas, why not get him to sort out the stuff that he no longer plays with and take it to the charity shop?

Murtle

I think Christmas could be cheap this year if has too much stuff already I'd follow funky-footprints, not tidy, doesn't get to go someplace he wants to go until it's done. I think firmness from a young age will prevent tantrums as they get older. They know where the boundaries are and will only push them little by little
x

mediaman

Most parents have this problem, it's called the joys of parenthood.
If your lucky in a few years the maturity thing might kick in and he will get a bit tidier. From personal experience this is unlikely.

Relax and enjoy watching your kiddie grow up or you could spend years struggling with him and all the friction that it brings.

Rachie_B

i dont agree with allowing the room to become a mess as is mums who end up doing it when it gets too bad anyway lol ( maybe save this technique for when he is a teenager lol)

i personally cannot stand to see a room a mess so id rather encourage and help a 4 yr old to tidy it as we go along

it can be a battle but gentle reminders and regular ie before bed tidy up sessions is easier / better IMO

lil_me

Boxes with labels, if he can't read the words use pictures on them, then he can find everything. IKEA is where I got my kids plastic boxes from for about 70p but Tescos, ASDA, in fact most places do them. Some sort of reward system for doing it.

furndire

when my sons were around 8 , I got sick of picking stuff up when I wanted to clean their rooms, so I used to pick it up and put it on their beds & the quilt on top. One used to sleep on the floor - couldn't be bothered, the other used to put his away.