|
|
To Clean Or Not
To Clean (Your Child's Room)
by Rachel
Paxton |
|
Whether or not to help your child
clean their room. It's an age old dilemma. I still clearly remember
my dad patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) explaining
and demonstrating to me how to fold the sheet corners on my bed.
I just didn't understand how the way he learned to make his bed
in the army had to do with me and how I made my bed. Why was
he torturing me this way?
|
|
|
I never did figure out why having
such a neatly made bed was so important to my dad, but he eventually
gave up and found other ways to ensure I grew up with serviceable
housekeeping skills. So how do you pass these skills along to
your children without them hating you for it?
I've heard several theories
on how parents should encourage their children to keep their
rooms clean. Some parents just insist that the bedroom is kept
clean, every minute of every day. That's fine if your child was
born with a true desire to live in a home that is neat and organized
at all times (like my husband). Personally I quickly tired of
arguing with our 12-yr-old daughter about keeping her room clean.
When our daughter was younger,
I never insisted her room be spotless. It always had a "lived
in" look, but I encouraged her to pick up after herself.
As she got older we noticed that she was not as organized as
my husband and I hoped she would be. So we decided to come up
with a better way to keep her belongings in good order. |
|
|
It's mom's very nature to just
go in her child's room once in awhile to clean things up just
a bit. That was the approach my mom often took, and I won't deny
that I haven't been guilty of it myself from time to time.
I decided to "help"our daughter clean her room, because
her excuse was always that she didn't know where to put everything.
Well, that's easy enough to fix. About once a month, we regularly
went through all her clothes and toys, sorting out what she no
longer needed or wanted, to give away to friends, charities,
or to save for the annual yard sale. I have found that when space
is an issue, (which it almost always is), it is absolutely essential
to minimize the clutter.
When a child walks into a hopelessly messy bedroom, they don't
even know where to start. Make it easier for them by getting
rid of the unnecessaries. After doing this enough times, our
daughter finally started bringing me her unwanted belongings
on her own, without me constantly having to go through her things
with her. Progress. That's good!
I still often help our daughter clean her room. My husband hates
it. Yes, she is capable of cleaning her room by herself now,
but I think we honestly both enjoy the time we spend together
while doing it. I have to say, though, that minimizing the clutter
has reduced our combined effort to 15 minutes or less. Most of
the time is spent sorting through school papers she's stashed
away in every corner of her room. I've also found that the less
stuff our daughter has, the better she takes care of what she
does have.
My husband and I have laid down some ground rules that I really
think have helped our daughter think about keeping her room clean
and organized on her own.
1. No food in your bedroom. No exceptions.
2. Clean the hamster cage once a week, or no hamster. (Luckily
for the hamster she has a great deal of concern for his living
conditions).
3. Keep CD's put away or no new CD's.
4. Keep dirty clothes in the hamper or they won't get washed.
(We've made sure she only has a week's worth of most items of
clothing so she runs out quickly if the clothes don't make it
into the laundry).
The other day I caught our daughter sitting on her bedroom floor
with her socks and underwear spread around her. She was painstakingly
folding each pair and organizing them in the drawer. "I
hate it when they're all mixed up and I can't find something!"
she exclaimed. There's hope yet, I thought to myself. I couldn't
help but laugh.
Copyright 2000 Rachel Paxton |
|
|
|
|
Author: |
|
Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer
and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook
containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes,
gardening, organizing tips, home decorating, holiday hints, and
more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com. |
|
|
|
|
Recommended For
You... |
Around The Web |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Refer
