How do you get your LOs to clean their room?

[Naturallove]

I have tried just about everything I can think of to get my boys to clean their room and I can't find anything that works. I am not someone that is okay with clutter and mess and I don't want my children growing up to think that living that way is okay either. On a functional level, it is important that they have their room picked up before our housekeepers come.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you!

[Alyantavid]

Ask them and help. Explain why it needs to be cleaned.

[Norasmomma]

I use a timer with DD, I tell her "let's see what we can pick up in 5 minutes".

[CarrieMF]

De-clutter their rooms. The less stuff they have the easier it is to keep clean and they'll be less likely to fight cleaning it.

[busymama77]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

De-clutter their rooms. The less stuff they have the easier it is to keep clean and they'll be less likely to fight cleaning it.

I did this recently for DS1's room and it helped quite a bit. I bought a storage unit and separated the toys by cars & other vehicles, action heros, and other toys. He sees where they need to go and has been pretty good about doing it. I sometimes help, but try and make it fun.

[cappuccinosmom]

I start by not having a lot of stuff in their room.

The toys are in the living room. So 1. They aren't playing unsupervised (and thus don't have the freedom to let impulses run free like I did when I was 5 and tried to clue the bed to the floor with toothpaste and tinkerbell powder ) and 2. The mess in the living room is more immediate and obvious that it needs to be tidied up so the rest of the family can enjoy the space too, and 3. There just isn't much in their room to strew around.

As it stands currently, about every third day I have them all scoot under the beds to pull out books that have been dropped, and random lonely socks, etc. They think it's fun, the stuff gets pulled out and put away, and they take care of the dustbunnies. Other than that, there's really no cleanup to be done. They make their beds in the morning, and I require them to drop laundry *in the laundry basket*. If they get lax about any of it, that's my signal that they need more supervision and reminders from me for a while.

[ollyoxenfree]

It's so much easier when they are young. I'd ask them to clean up and offer my help. We'd get it done quickly. They both had baskets or under-the-bed boxes for quick toy pick-up and storage.

Now that they are teens, they don't want me in their rooms. However, if I tell them to strip their beds for laundry and they don't do it, they know that I will, so it's fair game for me to enter then. For the most part, I respect their privacy and leave them be. They know that food, dishes and food wrappers must be cleaned up immediately because of pests. The rest, unmade beds, clothes not put away etc., I try to ignore.

[Rosebud1]

I think it's important for children to help with household chores. I would connect their participation with other more fun household activities. Like, I would love to bake banana bread with you now, but we can't work in the kitchen until your room is clean. Or even, I know you want to go to the park, but we cannot go until your morning chores are completed. Make it an established routine.

[maddymama]

http://www.housefairy.org/
It's gimmicky but it works!
~maddymama

[hopefulfaith]

1. Very, very little in their room. Bed, nightstand, clothes, books, and a few toys. That's it. The rest of the toys go in the playroom. It's too overwhelming when there's stuff everywhere. It's overwhelming to me, and I'm 34. I can't imagine how it must look to my 3 year old. When toys "migrate" (and they invariably do), I take a laundry basket and move them back to the playroom.

2. We have quiet time every day (no more napping). At the end of QT, their "ticket" out of their room is having toys picked up. I've tried to make a daily habit of picking up. We do have a playroom, like I mentioned, that I'm a little more lax about: we clean weekly in there --- but rooms are tidied daily. I help them make their beds in the morning to contribute to a sense of order.


I tried really hard to make tidying up into a routine, and for the most part, it usually works.

[Pavlovs]

I don't like clutter and floor messes, but even more I hated the daily battle of having my son's room picked up. So we made a deal that only on Sunday would I have him clean it, and it must be done before dinner. I feel easier about the mess in his room, and he's more prone to clean it well and without whining because it's only once a week. Win win situation.