With this mentality, cleaning becomes a much less daunting task.Įncouraging our children to help their siblings and friends clean up also encourages a sense of teamwork and partnership. Once they clean up, they have the green light to do something else. Something that worked for me was using cleaning up as a reward rather than a punishment. However, it’s vital that we do not rush our children when they are cleaning, and we encourage them to do as much as they can. It’s clear that children are slower than adults at cleaning up, which is why we often do it ourselves. If we teach our children to tidy, we are helping them develop valuable life skills. However, I believe this responsibility is essential as we teach our children to grow into self-sufficient, independent adults. It has been said that children should play and they don’t need to worry about cleaning up – that’s an adult’s job. I always tried to refrain from controlling my children, while still giving them clear rules to follow.Ĭleaning up is a very important learning experience that we don’t want to take away from our children. If they did not clean up their dirty plates, then they couldn’t take food out of the kitchen. This was my "final consequence" after many abandoned crumb-covered plates and dirty glasses had been left randomly around the house! This was a rule that I implemented that my children were able to understand. In my household, many of my children were "banned" from taking food and drink out of the kitchen. It’s important to remember that this is not an easy task and not to get discouraged. These qualities will be useful as they grow older and become "messy" teenagers they'll be much more likely to keep their things tidy if they've always had the responsibility to do so. Asking children to tidy up after themselves gives them discipline, skills, and a sense of responsibility and pride.
The problem is it doesn’t teach our children anything. Why I Believe Children Should Clean Up After ThemselvesĬhildren are perfectly capable of cleaning up after themselves, so why do parents do it for them? Often, we think if we do it ourselves, it will be done faster (and better.) It is often much easier to just clean up than to guide and remind kids about cleaning. In the long run, instilling this responsibility in my children at a young age has helped them become self-sufficient, capable adults. I believe that learning to tidy up after themselves provides children with a sense of responsibility and accountability. However, I have always encouraged my children to clean up their own mess as well as helping their siblings and friends clean up their messes. As a mother of eight and now a grandmother of eleven, I have a lot of experience with children making a mess and just walking away without a care in the world. Written by Victoria Sopik, Kids & Company's CEOĬhildren love to play and make messes, but they rarely think about cleaning up after. Keeping up with the daily house keeping can be a drag, but it doesn’t have to take up all your time.Tidy Up Time: The Importance of Cleaning Up Their Own Mess As always all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
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