New With a Question

[kiddosnme]

Ok I tried giving them specific items to clean up, although the DC boy in question was not here today, so this also helped. My DS and DCG cleaned up wonderfully. YAY! They even helped with the playdough no problems! Now everyone is taking a nap Yay for nap time!!! I like that I gave them both specific items "You clean up the blocks, and you clean up the kitchen toys" They both knew what to do and only strayed a couple of times, I also told them the quicker they cleaned up they quicker we could play playdough! I think it helped to add a fun activity coming up next if they clean up, instead of just the promise of lunch. I think we will be outside most of the day after nap, so we will see how the outside clean up goes later

[professionalmom]

I had 2 brothers (ages 5 & 7) that would just keep playing instead of picking up toys after I told them it's time to pick up. I told them over and over. Finally one day, I quietly walked up to the gate to the playroom, saw them playing instead of cleaning, and stood there, waiting. When they saw me, I simply said, "boys, come here." When they got to the gate, I opened it, pulled out 2 chairs on opposite ends of the room and turned them to face the wall, then I simply told A to sit in this chair and B to sit in that chair. I set the timer for 3 minutes. If they smiled or turned their heads or started playing with their hands or feet, I told them "both feet on the floor, hands on your knees". I made it incredibly boring for them. But I did not say much. When the timer buzzed, I simply said in a very cheerful voice, "ok, boys let's try this again. Go clean the playroom." They started picking up toys, but were going slow, so I set the timer for 10 minutes. When I buzzed, they went back in time-out for another 4 minutes. Then they had 10 minutes to clean. If they were not done in that time, they got time out with 1 additional minute added on. This only took 1-2 days to reduce their clean-up time from 1.5 hours to under 20 minutes. The second day, I told them they had 30 minutes (initially) to clean, then the time-outs start. But the next week, they were picking up in under 15 minutes. It worked like a charm. I also saved craft time and the last snack until they were done. One day it only took 10 minutes! Oh, and I always had to inspect to ensure they weren't just throwing everything into the toy box. Everything had it's place and had to be in the correct place (within reason).

Another thing I tried that worked for a while was taking index cards and putting 1 job on each card (like Mega blocks, wood blocks, books), then they got to draw a card (face down) and do that job. When they finished their job, they would draw another card and keep going. When they were all done, the one with the most completed jobs got a special prize or treat.

It's all about incentives. Is it bribery? You bet. But that's how the world works. Adults go to their jobs because they are getting PAID MONEY to work. If it wasn't for the paycheck, most of us would love to just relax on a beach, play with our own kids, or enjoy or own hobbies more. It just teaches them about how the world really works.

[originalkat]

If I notice someone not doing their share and just wandering I stop everyone else early and have that child finish up the cleaning while everyone else moves on to the next activity.

I do that too. It works great!

[sahm2three]

OH MY!!! I am so happy I found this forum!!!! My question for the day, and the reason I found this forum while googling my problem is what do you do when you have children in your care that refuse to pick up after themselves? I have two particular children one being 5 and the other being almost 3. neither will pick up, no matter what, they walk around and watch everyone else, trying to look like they are helping. It makes me want to scream, especially the 5 year old who goes to school and should know better. He claims he does not have to clean up at home, which I know to be true. I have discussed it with his dad and he pretty much shrugged it off, I guess he thinks this is my job, so I should do it. This same child also is a wanderer, we do not have a fenced in yard and I watch them like a hawk when they are outside, he usually is allowed to play out with out supervision. Where we live this is just not possible, I feel like a 5 year old still needs to be watched outside especially since we live in a pretty populated area. He told me yesterday that he hates it at my house. Well no wonder, when you get to do whatever you want at yours unsupervised. So my question I guess is what to do when he blatently ignores my requests to clean up, and should I be holding the 3 year olds to the same clean up standards as the 5 and up children? What do you expect during clean up time? I do have a shelving unit with different bins, everything is clearly labeled (even for the little ones) and every bin has a lid. Organization is not a problem.

I say let the other kids sit and watch THEM clean up one day! Or tell them they are not allowed to play with toys since they choose not to clean up. I have a few like this too, but they are younger and as long as I stay on top of them.