Cleanup is an important part in teaching your toddler to cleanup after themselves. Writer Daisy Murphy from Best London Cleaners shares tips on how to teach your toddler to tidy up after themselves.
It is important to teach your toddler to cleanup after him/herself not only because you have to do the work, but more importantly you should teach them to be responsible for their actions. After game time there comes a moment to pick-up your toys and put them in their places. Here are some creative and practicable tips to teach your toddler to become more independent and responsible from an early age. These will be useful habits that will form their character.
Turn Toddler Cleanup into a game
First thing you can do is turn the cleaning into a game. Kids and especially toddlers learn during play and the best way to create new habits is involving them in a game. Challenge your son/daughter to pick as many blue, red, or other toys from the floor and compete with her/him. Make a competition who will pick more toys from the floor and offer a price to the winner. Give a choice to your kids and they will have more control.
Your assistance is needed
Choose a small area which to clean with their help. Help them put the cars, dolls or other of their possessions to their places. Offer help and tell them you will work together. This way they won’t get discouraged and do the work faster. Once the kids achieve the goal you can award them with a price of your choice.
Don’t let your little one play with more than one sort of toys. Suggest he/she put the items in the boxes or where you keep them and then take out other sort of toys. This will help you keep your kid’s room less untidy and teach your toddler to be more neat during play time.
Always work with your toddler to cleanup their room. They are too young and it will be unrealistic to think he/she can handle with all the work alone. Do the tougher tasks yourself and let them do the easier ones which are appropriate for their age. You can turn this into a game and make it more fun. You could use a timer or an alarm for the job to be completed and compete with your kid.
Create a schedule
Designate a certain time during the day for cleaning up the toys and games from the floor. These can be stepped on, damaged, lost and you would like to keep your toddler’s rooms tidy. For younger toddlers at the age of several months you can use the time before dinner for cleaning and tidying their possessions. This will be done once in the day at the same time till they create a habit. Help them with the work and try to make it fun.
Older toddlers near the age of 3, you can teach to put their toys and games in their places right after using each one. Once they finish playing they should cleanup the area and then start using other toys. For example after finishing a game of puzzle put all parts in the box and then let your toddler take out new toys.
Be patient
Be flexible with your toddler and let him/her leave the building of blocks, finishing the puzzle or other such games for later or another day. Don’t be too strict and let your kids enjoy the work he/she has accomplished. Taking the fun away will only create bad feelings between you. You can designate a special area and table or corner in the room for such projects to display.
Conclusion
Break up the cleaning work into easier tasks. Let your toddler do one task at a time and see the results. They won’t discourage themselves if they see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Let them tidy their cars, blocks then books, etc. From one parent to another, the best advice is to separate the work into sections.
Always praise your child for doing well cleaning and be proud of them. They will learn to be more responsible and independent by cleaning up their room with your help.
Article Contributed by: Daisy Murphy