Does it seem like an impossible dream to have kids AND a tidy house? Believe it or not, the two aren’t necessarily exclusive! Try these ideas for a clean sweep!
Start young! Encourage your toddler to start tidying up their toys from an early age and it will be far easier for you and them then introducing the concept way down the line. Toddler’s like to “help” and will often mimic you when you clean house, for example. They feel a sense of achievement if they are seen to be helping. So harness this goodwill and get them to clean up their toys!
Be proud! Toddlers don’t have always have the necessary coordination to achieve so don’t expect perfection! Not everything will perhaps end up in the right place, but hey it beats being all over the floor!
Keep instructions simple Don’t make a task seem too big- none of us like to feel defeated before we start things! Best to ask for all the books to be put on the shelf or the play food to be put in the shopping basket.
Have a sort out! Think about reducing the number of toys you have, perhaps you have several of some toys and you might not really need them all!
Box them up! Nothing beats a good storage system at the end of the day. Top tip! Think about attaching a picture of the toys that go in each box. This will help your toddler learn to sort their toys into the right places, even if they can’t read yet.
Colour me happy! If things have really got messy and your toddler is showing a reluctance to help tidy up. Play a game with colour and get them to pick up everything that is red or green etc.
Be consistent! You need to get your toddler to understand tidying up their toys at the end of the day is part of their routine.
Make it fun! If your child is a little older you could set them a challenge, for example, who can pick up a certain number of toys in a certain amount of time.
Say thank you! Appreciate their help......
Reward their efforts- maybe after all the toys are tidied up you could settle down and read a story together for example.
What can you suggest? Have you any tried and tested ideas to help toddlers tidy up! If you have then please share..!
