How do you make them clean?

I am pretty clueless. When my kids make a mess, I want them to clean it up so they know how annoying it is and stop doing, but how can I make them do it? They totally emptied the diaper cart today (including every single wipe...),and I had to clean it up because they just wouldn't help (ok, DS helped a bit).

How do you deal with those things?

 

I sure wish there was an easy way! My girls are three, and we still haven't figured it out. The only thing that slightly works for me is not allowing anything else to be played with until the initial mess is cleaned up. I try to get them to help, but if they turn into spaghetti (ie - go limp and whine instead of helping) then they at least have to sit and watch while I clean up rather than running off to play with something else. Lately if there's a big mess to clean up they'll watch for a few minutes and then start helping to speed the process up so they can go do something else.

 

Yeah I guess that would work, today though the next step was nap time so it was a pain!

 

I try to make it a competitive game... who can put the most diapers, etc. away...can you put more away then Mommy? Most of the time it works but there are some days my two will not help clean up at all.

 

Mean momma alert! If they don't help out, they get a warning and a time out. If one is helping and the other isn't, the one who is will be told to leave some for sister to clean. We started having them help pick up toys and stuff around 15 months, so they know the drill by now. Thats not to say some nights aren't a struggle, and some nights I just do it after they go to bed because they are tired and cranky (and so am I!).

 

Yesterday, Karina smeared applesauce all over the table. I made her clean it up. She did a lousy job, but she's 2, so I didn't expect a lot. If she had refused to clean it up (after I counted to 3), she would have had a time out.

When we are just doing general picking up of toys, I give them specific jobs to do: Annelise, please pick up all the blocks and put them in this container. Karina, please pick up all the books and put them on the shelf. That helps a lot. I also don't expect them to have long attention spans for clean up. Annelise is much better at picking up than Karina is.

 

If it's just a ridiculous huge mess, I do make them clean it up immediately. I usually assign each girl a specific thing to do, and if they need it I will help them. I will also set a timer and then after the timer goes off, reassign them something else to do or help them if they aren't finished. But I don't help out a bunch, I usually will hand them a pile and tell them to go put it wherever it goes. They usually like that lot better than me not being involved at all.

 

At that age I also assigned jobs and sometimes made it competetive ("okay, everybody pick up 3 things and put them away" - I still do this one!). If they refused, I would physically take their hands and make them pick something up. Usually when they saw I wasn't backing down, they'd start picking up. Now that we have a playroom, we only clean it up once or twice a week for me to sweep and/or mop. If they want to step all over their toys, that's their problem. Things that get broken or torn get thrown away.

 

I use bribery. If you clean up all the "insert whatever type items here" then I will give you 2 m&m's. or fruit snacks, or some other wonderfully delicious treat for helping out.
Soometimes I offer coins for their piggy bank. they really like that.