Clean up, Clean up, nobody wants to do their share.....

[mrsp'slilpeeps]

I am having a mega issue with all of my dcks not cleaning up after they are done with a certain box of toys.

I have dcks that are between the ages of 2-8. My big PITA are the 2, 2yr olds that think its hilarious to just wander around and dump cubbies, move chairs around and climb up on the cubbies when my head is turned, dump every ones diapers from the cubbies, dump the books, and rip them and toss them every where. I don't know how to curb this behavior, and time out means nothing to them.

At the end of the day when the older kids get here, they too make a mess and everyone refuses to clean up. Then im stuck with the mess to tend to EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Im fed up and my playroom is a pig sty cause I refuse to clean it.

I have told them that they don't get to go outside, go home ect, until its clean but that doesn't work.

I need advice, especially with the 2 yr olds, before I go completely insane.

[racemom]

Can you put the majority of the toys somewhere so they have to ask for what they want. That way they have to clean up what they are playing with before they get something else. Or put all of the toys but a few away and make them earn the privilege of having more by proving they can clean up what they have, and as they get more toys if they are not picked up they go away again.

[daycare_jen]

Can you put the majority of the toys somewhere so they have to ask for what they want. That way they have to clean up what they are playing with before they get something else. Or put all of the toys but a few away and make them earn the privilege of having more by proving they can clean up what they have, and as they get more toys if they are not picked up they go away again.

If I have a group of dcks that don't clean up, I put toys in storage containers to keep in a large closet or my garage. I will only bring in one or two bins of various toys at a time. (I only have 3 dck plus one of my own, so the amount works for me.) I do frequent clean up times so the mess doesn't get too out of control. If you have a place you can keep toys to minimize what they can get in to and rotate them, I suggest that. and then if they start do well with cleaning up, add a bit more in.

[Heidi]

Remove a ton of toys from their reach. Remove anything they shouldn't play with from their reach. Get to the home store and buy some shelves to put diaper cubbies up OVER the changing table.

I'd remove the chairs for a while, too. Or, give them one chance to sit on the chair nicely each day, and then remove.

You could put shelves around the top of the room so that toys can be seen, but not reached. Then, they can "trade" you something that is out already.

I just velcro'd all my baskets down (I think Silver does this), and it's FANTASTIC. I got these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H87DU0K/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They are heavy plastic, but look like wicker, and the front is semi-open. My toddlers can see what's inside, but they can't dump.

Number one thing, though, is take out a bunch of stuff.

For school-agers, maybe make a separate area (can you block off part of the room?) and institute a clean-as-you-go policy. Hold a meeting. "Guys, these little folks look to you for example. I REALLY need your help modeling good cleaning" Maybe you could do some sort of reward system for the school-agers like ice cream on Fridays for a good week of help?

[countrymom]

I have this problem too. But its one dcb age 3. He only comes one day a week and is horrible. I don't know how many times I yell at him to clean his mess up. In one hour he has dumped out the crayons 3 times (he was sent to the corner)

so I tell the sister (mom never picks up) about the issue and she tells me that he's like this at home except that he's dumping all the clothes out too and refusing to clean up. ARgh, now I to work extra hard to make him clean up.

[CraftyMom]

I agree, take away most of the toys. If they aren't there they can't make a mess with them.

I keep my toys minimal and rotate them.

I find that when there are too many toys they "get bored" and "there's nothing to do". By rotating the toys it makes them seem new again

When I have a child that refuses to clean I place a toy in his hand and lead him where the toy needs to go. Over and over until he realizes he will clean up his mess either way.

[childcaremom]

When I have a child that refuses to clean I place a toy in his hand and lead him where the toy needs to go. Over and over until he realizes he will clean up his mess either way.

I went through this with my 2s, too. I spent a good 6-8 weeks really working with them on the hand over hand. We did clean up 2-3 X during our free play periods and then at each transition so they had a LOT of practice.

Now when I say it's time to clean up they are mostly good. If they refuse or won't, they sit until they are ready to help. They are usually ready to help within a few mins.

I really like the idea of the velcro baskets. Genius!

[Meyou]

Along with removing most of the toys I would clean up multiple times per day so that the mess is less and it becomes part of their routine that they just do and stop thinking about. I even stop them mid-play to do a quick tidy when there is too much on the floor. Anyone that is not helping gets to finish the current pickup all alone while everyone else moves on to the next task. I do a lot of suggesting to the 2's as well. "Johnny, blocks are your job! Johnny, I see more blocks! Suzy, please put away the babies! Suzy, I see lots of baby bottles around. Please find them!" They get the hang of it pretty quickly if you're consistent and clean up a lot.

School agers who refused to clean up would be doing alot of sitting and thinking and no playing at all here! That is just not acceptable.

[NightOwl]

Lots of times, the kids would rather take time out than clean up. Some even do things on purpose to be put in time out in order to avoid cleaning. If that's the case, always save a portion of the cleaning for them. Don't put them in time out and the other children and you do all of the cleaning. The non cleaner wins here. If you save them a section to clean, they'll see that they didn't gain anything by going to time out.

[mrsp'slilpeeps]

I also bought those foam mats with the letters and numbers and it got put away a week later because they just took them all apart and threw them all over the play room or chewed on them.

Just feeling so annoyed.

[CraftyMom]

I also bought those foam mats with the letters and numbers and it got put away a week later because they just took them all apart and threw them all over the play room or chewed on them.

Same here. And I have foam letters that are all chewed on

[Blackcat31]

Sometimes with the toddlers you have to physically sit in the room and tell them exactly what to clean up.

Jimmy, put the blocks here.
Sally, you get the cars and put them here.
Billy, can you get the ball and put it here.

If necessary, I will do hand over hand clean up for those kids that are just learning the clean up process.

In a group with mixed ages, I tell the older ones to clean up first and when they are 80% done, I have them go sit and then I sit and "tell" the younger ones 'exactly' what I need/want them to do.

It's also a good idea to have limited toys. Too many things out and it gets overwhelming during clean up time.

Also for toddlers, dumping is part of the learning process and something they should be allowed to do within context.

Give them bins and baskets of things they CAN dump. Make it a game, dump then clean up! Dump then clean up! Rinse and repeats.

Banning them from dumping will only create stronger desire to dump.

[Second Home]

If a child refuses to clean what they are done playing with they can not play with anything else . I repeat they they need to clean up before taking anything else .I always repeat one toy at a time , we need to put that away first , etc.. at least 50 times a day but it works and they very rarely have a meltdown over cleaning up.

All kids begin this routine when they start coming here , even as young as 16 months they can begin learning the routine . Yes , I guide them even make a game out of cleaning up .

If an older child refuses to clean up up plays with a toy innapropriately then they are no longer allowed to play with that toy . When they ask the next day for the same toy I explain why they can not have it , you refused to clean it up yesterday , you threw it across the room .

I also have the letter foam puzzle mats , no one takes them apart .

[Shell]

Sometimes with the toddlers you have to physically sit in the room and tell them exactly what to clean up.

Jimmy, put the blocks here.
Sally, you get the cars and put them here.
Billy, can you get the ball and put it here.

If necessary, I will do hand over hand clean up for those kids that are just learning the clean up process.

In a group with mixed ages, I tell the older ones to clean up first and when they are 80% done, I have them go sit and then I sit and "tell" the younger ones 'exactly' what I need/want them to do.

It's also a good idea to have limited toys. Too many things out and it gets overwhelming during clean up time.

Also for toddlers, dumping is part of the learning process and something they should be allowed to do within context.

Give them bins and baskets of things they CAN dump. Make it a game, dump then clean up! Dump then clean up! Rinse and repeats.

Banning them from dumping will only create stronger desire to dump.

Agree with all of this. I also make the big clean up of the playroom right before transition to outside or exercise if it is raining or too cold. I actually downloaded the Barney song, and the kids all sing as they clean -it helps. As for the older kids, when I used to teach K and afterschool at a public school, we would flash the lights to tell the kids to stop what they are doing, and clean. I'm big on using " cues " with kids of all ages.

[Leanna]

A few things I find helpful are
1) To give each child a specific job. Derek cleans up the blocks while Anthony cleans up the dolls.
2) Mine love it when I set the timer and they try to beat the clock. They think it is a game and do really well.
3) I have the shelves and baskets labeled with photos and words so they know exactly what goes where.
4) After clean-up time tell them that they are going to be an "Inspector." Give a few kids a magnifying glass and have them go around and search for anything that didn't get put away. Lt's face it, kids love to rat each other out - we might as well use it to our advantage!

Give yourself a break for a week and put out toys with no parts or pieces. Put out only board books. Minimize how many chairs are in there (do they need chairs in the playroom at all?) and put a simple activity out on the table so they are less likely to move them around. After the week slowly put other toys back out. You could also try putting away whatever doesn't get cleaned up and if they refuse to clean up they will quickly see their choices dwindle.