I have four children. The boys are in a room sharing a wide closet and the girls are in a room sharing a wide closet with enough room for everyone. One of the two bunk beds sits on the floor but the other one is up on legs so there is room for a few inches high of whatever my sons shove under their bed.
I've repeatedly told them not to put books, clothes, and trash under their bed, and they still clutter it up.
I've repeatedly told them to stop leaving their dirty clothes on the floor, but the next morning I still have to tell them to pick them up and put them in the hamper.
I've repeatedly told my five-year-old son to stop taking clean clothes off the hangers and leaving them places (leave it hung up until you're going to wear it), but just this morning he did it again, for at least the third or fourth time, so I had to hang them all back up again.
I even put a small bookshelf in there to discourage leaving books on the floor but there are still books under the bed, scattered over the floor, and even right next to the bookshelf. Can you say lazy?
I tell them almost every morning to put the pillows and blankets back on their beds and make their beds.
Needless to say, I am fed up! Am I being reasonable to have these basic standards (clothes in dresser or hung up when clean, in hamper when dirty; books on bookshelf; blankets on beds; pillowcases left on pillows) for children ages 4-9? It's my thinking that this is a good time to get them in the habit of not only cleaning up after themselves, but also leaving it clean (imagine that). Whatever I'm doing, though, it's not working, at least not yet.
About three weeks ago they slept over at their grandparents' house and I went in there and cleaned everything out from under my sons' bed. I made all the beds, put at least two or three blankets on all four beds, hung up all the clothes, washed three loads full of the clothes that were on the floor, put the books on the bookshelf, brought toys back to the playroom, and threw away the trash. They thanked me when they came home.
This morning we were back to square one: they were ungrateful, they talked back, they sat there and watched while I hung up their clothes and picked up hangers. I don't plan on doing that big clean very often like I did a few weeks ago, mainly before company comes and stays the night. I want my children to know that it's their job to keep their rooms clean and clean up whatever messes they make.
Please constructively let me know what works for you and help me back up from the end of my rope. I will not admit defeat and let them be slobs and grow up to live like this.
I've repeatedly told them not to put books, clothes, and trash under their bed, and they still clutter it up.
I've repeatedly told them to stop leaving their dirty clothes on the floor, but the next morning I still have to tell them to pick them up and put them in the hamper.
I've repeatedly told my five-year-old son to stop taking clean clothes off the hangers and leaving them places (leave it hung up until you're going to wear it), but just this morning he did it again, for at least the third or fourth time, so I had to hang them all back up again.
I even put a small bookshelf in there to discourage leaving books on the floor but there are still books under the bed, scattered over the floor, and even right next to the bookshelf. Can you say lazy?
I tell them almost every morning to put the pillows and blankets back on their beds and make their beds.
Needless to say, I am fed up! Am I being reasonable to have these basic standards (clothes in dresser or hung up when clean, in hamper when dirty; books on bookshelf; blankets on beds; pillowcases left on pillows) for children ages 4-9? It's my thinking that this is a good time to get them in the habit of not only cleaning up after themselves, but also leaving it clean (imagine that). Whatever I'm doing, though, it's not working, at least not yet.
About three weeks ago they slept over at their grandparents' house and I went in there and cleaned everything out from under my sons' bed. I made all the beds, put at least two or three blankets on all four beds, hung up all the clothes, washed three loads full of the clothes that were on the floor, put the books on the bookshelf, brought toys back to the playroom, and threw away the trash. They thanked me when they came home.
This morning we were back to square one: they were ungrateful, they talked back, they sat there and watched while I hung up their clothes and picked up hangers. I don't plan on doing that big clean very often like I did a few weeks ago, mainly before company comes and stays the night. I want my children to know that it's their job to keep their rooms clean and clean up whatever messes they make.
Please constructively let me know what works for you and help me back up from the end of my rope. I will not admit defeat and let them be slobs and grow up to live like this.