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I have a 7 year old girl that makes a mess every single morning before school and refuses to pick it up. She lies and says she didn't play with it or sneaks out to get her shoes on. Most of the time I know she was playing with it or the other children who are 8-10 years old confirm it was her that got it out. Or if she is playing with someone else she stares at them while they pick up the mess. If I catch her I make her finish cleaning by herself. After 15 minutes of arguing with her the bus comes and half the time she doesn't get cleaned up before and I have to do it. I don't mean to sound lazy but my child learned by age 3 he was to pick up what he played with. So I have decided all next week she will not be able to play with toys before school and she needs to sit at the table and do coloring or reading. Is this too harsh?
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Not harsh at all. I do not let kids play before school. (As kids, we never played before school either.) They can read a book or sit quietly & wait. -
Nope. I've done the same thing before.Comment
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That's exactly what I would do. And she has to prove she can clean up those things before she can get out toys again, too!Comment
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Your plan sounds good to me.
LaurelComment
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I would do the same thing. And in the future, if toys aren't picked up before school, I would either leave them out (if possible), or PUT them back out right before she returns to school and make her clean them up then. She knows that someone else will do it-what she still needs to learn is that it is HER responsibility to pick up after herself. I would also ask parents to help teach her how to pick up after herself (MANY kids never do this at home).Comment
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I don't think it's too harsh. When did teaching things like self-discipline and accountability to children become a bad thing??? This little girl is going to grow up, and who would want a co-worker/mother/friend/whatever that ducked out or didn't carry her own weight like that?Comment
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I had a 7 year old who refused to pick up his toys earlier this year. He lost the privilege of playing with toys the next day. He was allowed to sit quietly and read books. The next day he was allowed to have toys again and he picked up after himself.
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Great, thanks everyone! I'm very hormonal lately due to being 2 months pregnant and want to make sure I'm not taking it out on them
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I think that is fine. I had one that would not pick up or argued that she didn't get things out. She was allowed to go pick her toy/book/tub, but then had to go to a certain table to use it. She was the only one that used that table, so the mess was hers, no denying it. If she didn't pick up prior to school, the mess was still at her table after school. She was not allowed to leave with a parent until her area was clean. Didn't take long before she (and her parents) caught on.Comment
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