Monday, March 24, 2008
How do you keep from losing it!?!?!
During cleaning time....when you are trying to get the kids to clean up all their crap.....and they won't listen to/mind/do a thing you say!?! We are cleaning, as we speak in the kids rooms and the playroom.....and I literally had to come lock myself in the bedroom to keep from totally losing it!! They have so much junk, and will not do anything I say! I am talking to them, telling them where to put each think, and they are steadily ignoring me.....in their own little play world. I have tried chore sheets, toy cards, sacking up every toy they own, packing up half of it so that they can't play with it.......nothing seems to work. I know what needs to happen....95% of their stuff needs to leave this house! (I have done that before, it just all ends up mulitiplying again as soon as a holiday hits) So, besides that......what gets your kids to clean??? Noah is the only one that will cooperate. The girls are absolutely horrible. We have tried taking away, not letting them go places, leaving them in their room until it is done.....I know they get overwhelmed, so I even will go in there and just tell them one thing at a time to do....they still won't listen, and if I am in there...that is when I start to lose my cool. I truly have to fight the urge to yank their hair out! Ideas.....suggestions.....anything!
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I had an arguement with Gage this morning over this very thing, he is supposed to make his bed each morning and then get a sticker. He told meno, and for me to do it - and I lost it. I need advice on this too...we have a chore chart but he didn't really care about it after the first few weeks. Noah is too little and that is fine, but Gage should know better. I feel like Charly browns parents some times "blaw blaw blaw"
ReplyDeleteI hope others leave good advice - I want to hear too!
I LITERALLY start throwing stuff in the trash and you can not get it out... I only had to do this once! I am blessed that the girls mind me.. they have always had to do it.. THis is what I say... Pick up the toys in the living room... if they DO NOT do it then I say.. Ok I will do it and boy do they get to moving!
ReplyDeleteI am wanting some answers on this one too....You and I sound JUST alike on this one!!!
ReplyDeleteI typically only fight this fight when they're really young... around age 3. (just did it with Carter!) It always starts the same... they drag out something like a bag of blocks. I say, "If you dump those out, you have to clean them up." "okay." Of course, they get done playing and do NOT want to clean up... let the fun begin, right? lol I did this with both of mine.. no more than twice. I made them sit beside the mess... only get up to use the bathroom, until it was clean. Meaning no eating, no drinking, no NOTHING. This is purely a battle of wills... a power struggle. I don't think you should pick many battles with your kids.. but when you do.. you HAVE to win. Carter wasn't as strong willed as Madison. He sat there for OVER an hour.. he got up to pee and when he was done in the bathroom he started to go to his room (the blocks were in the living room) I reminded him of the mess, he burst into tears and stomped his foot and screamed, "I'M NOT CLEANING THE BLOCKS!" So I went over, picked him up and hugged him, and sat him back down by the blocks and reminded him that he dumped them, he had to clean them. He sat there for another 30 minutes probably and then slowly started to pick them up. The INSTANT he took one and put it in the bag I praised him for being a good boy and cleaning. In my opinion, you can't hold a grudge. (sure I was still Peeved but I didn't let it show) A HUGE mess of toys is overwhelming for kids... I think you've got the right idea to just go in, not as punishment, and just get rid of a lot of it. Our kids are allowed one to two rubbermade bins of toys. If they can't keep that amount clean, they get less. (again, not due to punishment, due to them needing to be responcible for their stuff) I too will offer to help them clean up sometimes... if they're being good natured about cleaning especially. That, to me, is a reward for cleaning with a good attitude. I don't reward a bad attitude with help.. but that's purely how I do things. Do what works! I bet if you got rid of stuff, and stuck to your guns EACH time, this problem will lessen or go away. Does everything have a place to go? If not, make one. It will make it easier for them to clean. Maybe you should do what I do.. if you're home all day it's a lot messier than if the kids are only home in the evenings... so I make clean-up time happen in small amounts of time, all day long. 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there. It works for us!
ReplyDeleteEveryone keeps telling me to pick my battles! Part of it is age. Hannah is now getting where she understands what clean means. Be patient with them which I am not but am learning how to be. Just when they understand how to clean then the hormones kick in and you get a new adventure to deal with.
ReplyDeleteI gave up on trying to keep toys organized and bought big laundry baskets for them to throw stuff in. If it is in the baskets, I don't care as long as I can't step on it. I know your kids love stuffed animals but we don't keep very many at my house because I hate trying to keep them organized.
girl, i KNOW!!! i argue with jackson now more than i do lauren about this. it used to be her and jackson would clean up, now he has gotten to where he shoves everything under his bed and i can't stand it!!! i periodically go through and clean out toys and it just looks like i don't do anything to this day! haha i had them "sell" me some toys and it still looks like they have tons!
ReplyDeleteI wish I had something intelligent to say to you! I have a 14 month old. This isn't a problem for me yet. BUT...I plan to keep reading posts to your problem and make notes!! HA!! Sorry, sister!!!
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