Cleanup, Cleanup
One day recently C was playing in the living room. B was home and we wanted the kids to play upstairs in the playroom so we could have a little time to watch tv, talk, etc.
B mentioned to C, “Why don’t you go upstairs and play with J?”
C, “Mommy needs to cleanup the playroom.”
I was sitting on the couch crocheting and raised my eyebrows!
B, “Who made the mess upstairs?”
C, “There are toys all over the floor.”
B, “Again, who made the mess in the playroom and put the toys on the floor?”
C, “Well, me and J.”
B, “Who should pick up the toys that you and J got out?”
C, “Well, Mommy always helps us.”
Mommy (after calling J downstairs), “I have an idea. I am going to set the apple timer for 30 minutes. You and J go upstairs and pick up your toys. Whatever is left on the floor is going into a garbage bag and into the attic.”
C - whining, J - could care less - is playing on the floor with a car
I went upstairs and sat with the boys while they cleaned up the playroom. (It was more “cleaned AT” the playroom.) I gave them countdown warnings and finally called down to B for him to bring up a trash bag for me.
C had been concerned that J wasn’t cleaning up. I told C that I would start putting J’s toys in the garbage bag first and then go on to C’s toys that he didn’t pick up.
Once the trash bag appeared, C and J got really upset, but I think it drove home the idea that Mommy isn’t responsible for picking up after them, that I might sometimes CHOOSE to help and prefer the house to be neat.
The end result is that the playroom is staying neater, C and J are telling me “thank you” when they notice that I have cleaned up anything, and C and J are learning respect of our home.