Messiness and Kids-How to Deal With it Till They Grow Up

 

There is a simple fact of life that all parents come to accept-where there are kids, there is mess. They love to get their belongings out, and to be surrounded by them so that they can move from toy to toy-but when the day is done they have no interest at all in putting things away.

There are several ways that you can deal with this. You can find ways to help them to keep things tidy, you can tidy things away yourself, or you can just put up with the mess. Which would work best for you?

Some simple organization can help kids to manage their belongings themselves. When they are surrounded by clutter, and don't have enough room to put everything they will undoubtedly fail and the mess will accumulate.

Large toy boxes can help. Simple pictorial labels can help even the youngest child to know where particular items belong, so that they can return them there, and if the boxes are large enough they can easily toss items in there without having to become an expert at organization. Allowing things to remain on view but out of the way can also help children manage belongings by themselves.

Making tidy up time more enjoyable makes children more likely to be willing participants in tidy up. Special tidy up music that you play and all sing to makes it fun, as does having mum or dad help so that they don't feel like the full burden is on them. This doesn't mean that you do all the work yourself, but its OK to help out a little.

Tidying up yourself is of course option number two for dealing with childhood mess. It is the most sure fire way that everything will find it's proper place in a timely manner, and it leaves your children completely free to enjoy their toys and their playtime. But, it is also the hardest on the parent and may not be for everyone, especially if you have many other chores to take care of. That leaves us with just one option.

Your final choice is to simply accept the mess that children bring. They love making mess, and hate tidying up, and perhaps you have realized that having a house that is littered with toys isn't the end of the world. You choose instead to enjoy the time that you have with your children and enjoy the fun that they have when they are playing. You may even realize that this period of their life only lasts a short number of years, and that eventually they won't want toys at all, and then you will get the house back.

No matter what works for you, you have likely already realized that children and mess are inseparable. Now all that remains to be seen is how well you've learned to live with it.