Cleaning Up
In case any one was wondering no news is good news about Little T's tumor. I hope to have actual news on Friday.
Special K has turned six and has suddenly become more responsible. Getting her to clean up after herself used to be like banging my head against a wall. Now after I ask, she just does it most of the time. Little T who is the more socially adept of my two highly social children has internalized that "cleaning up as you go along makes things cleaner". A month ago he was dumping containers of toys on the floor for fun.
I won't say it's been an easy month. There were times when I got so frustrated with them. But it finally seems to be paying off. Tying the cleaning to some immediate reward like going to the park or a video (or getting to read in K's case) really seems to help.
I feel proud of them and myself. Cleaning up after myself was not a skill I was consistently taught as a child. And I do think it's a skill like going to the bathroom or cooking.
It's also amazing how it lifts the spirits to have a tidy house. C tidies more too. But our biggest problem was toys which then created more clutter on top of the toys.
Also since the kids pick up their own toys, they want to declutter. Special K specifically said she needed to find a space for her new toys by giving away old toys. Last year it was a big battle.
Special K has turned six and has suddenly become more responsible. Getting her to clean up after herself used to be like banging my head against a wall. Now after I ask, she just does it most of the time. Little T who is the more socially adept of my two highly social children has internalized that "cleaning up as you go along makes things cleaner". A month ago he was dumping containers of toys on the floor for fun.
I won't say it's been an easy month. There were times when I got so frustrated with them. But it finally seems to be paying off. Tying the cleaning to some immediate reward like going to the park or a video (or getting to read in K's case) really seems to help.
I feel proud of them and myself. Cleaning up after myself was not a skill I was consistently taught as a child. And I do think it's a skill like going to the bathroom or cooking.
It's also amazing how it lifts the spirits to have a tidy house. C tidies more too. But our biggest problem was toys which then created more clutter on top of the toys.
Also since the kids pick up their own toys, they want to declutter. Special K specifically said she needed to find a space for her new toys by giving away old toys. Last year it was a big battle.