In my richly blessed life, I still have struggles. Struggles that I'm embarrassed to admit because I am so blessed. So, please don't hear me complaining about my life in general...I just need to vent and be heard.
I live with 4 wonderful kids and a great husband. My kids seem to have no concept of cleaning up after themselves w.h.a.t.s.o.e.v.e.r. The 3 year old spills chips while taking her plate to the kitchen (which is a plus I guess) and fails to mention it to anyone and they are found by the 1 year old who eats them but mostly crumbles them. The shoes come off in the entryway along with the socks and they stay there. Our friends come over to play and after they leave the entire toyroom looks like Ground Zero. No fault of our friends, they are our guests. But my children seem to think that getting ALL the toys out at once is acceptable.
I feel like I spend all my time picking up after the kids and they have no appreciation. How do I teach them to be better at taking care of their stuff? I don't feel like I'm a cleaning nazi...I usually don't make my beds most days. And you should see my car (actually don't look), it's a mess. My oven smokes when I turn it on because there is burnt food in there that hasn't been cleaned. I'm not super stressed about most things. But I can barely seem to keep the floors cleaned, the bathrooms acceptable and the shoes in order. I could be more of a cleaning freak but then I would have absolutely no quality time with the kids. The window cleaning can wait, but could the kids PLEASE put their pajama's in the laundry basket instead of the floor?
One thing that gives me hope today (in spite of the snow we woke up to) is that God is faithful. Spring does always come...it does. And I know there may be days that I wish I had pee to wipe off the toilet seat (but I don't see it coming any time soon). But right now I'm going to try and concentrate on the things that matter. And that includes teaching my children to be responsible! Any suggestions?
I love your honesty. I am fairly certain every mom feels this way at some point. I know I did and sometimes still do. It helped me (when they were littler) to start small- things I could do to encourage my children to be responsible. 1st I put a shoes basket by the door. No matter the age they could "put their shoes away". Messy still but a bit more controlled.
ReplyDeleteI also made them clean up after their own spills. I had a hand broom and dust pan in a fun color (or now they make them to look like animals). If they spilled they cleaned it up (even at 2). If needed I handed them a wet rag.
I also labeled a bunch of bins (with words and pictures) that way at the end of the morning (and then after dinner) when the kids were sent to clean up it was easier for them.
Those steps help A LOT!
It takes a bit of work on my part but it's all about teaching my kids to be responsible for themselves. It's worth a bit of training (PLUS I don't want my daughter-in-law to complain that I didn't teach her son to clean up after himself!) :)
I STILL have problems with them (and Dale) not hitting the laundry basket so if you have advice on that I would love it! :)
I am SO THERE! Number one rule in our house is shoes get put away (they each have a shelf) coats, sweaters and bags are hung up the moment we get home. Next is NOTHING new comes out until the first project is put away. The girls room upstairs is their domain. I don't really worry about it and every couple of weeks we go dig it out together. If you figure out the laundry thing let me know! I have a GIANT container for it and it still goes on the floor:) Oh yeah if the kids refuse to pick up their toys or take care of their things they get given away, end of discussion. I'm not going to spend all day arguing!
ReplyDeleteWe do many of the same things as Amy. Each kid has a bin where their toys can go. We are limited on space so this aids in my sanity. They are discretely placed under the china cabinet. I am working on creating some type of shoe bin/rack/basket for the back room. Everybody will have a cubby! It is all about training & teaching. I also heard some advice from a friend that you should organize where things tend to fall. Case in point shoes. If they all leave them (typically) in the same place see if there is an appropriate solution close to that spot. If not, it may take longer to train them to not only put them "away", but to put them away in a different room all together. This advice really helped me organize a space on my kitchen counter & the study. Not always practical but worth some consideration.
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