natural consequence?

What consequence do your kids get if they do not clean up their toys? Tonight it was bedtime and toys were all over the floor still. Short of getting out the garbage bag, or letting them stay up late to clean and be cranky the next day, what consequence do your kids get when they do not clean up?

thanks I needs some new ideas and perspective.

 

Just saw this on Pinterest and thought it sounded fabulous... http://madsmemories.blogspot.com/2009/08/moms-ransom-rubbage.html?m=0

 

I usually just take said toys away. Doesn't happen very offer here

 

Great idea I'm going to start using that one thanks

 

We started taking the toys away for a week, which worked for awhile then they started to not care. Now I throw them away. (Mean Mom, I know!)

That mom ransom thing is a good idea too, though.

 

This is wildly clever. My kids would respond well to the hilarious job list.

 

I try to plan clean-up time to be right before something enticing (sadly, it's usually TV time, but it could also be a trip to the playground, going to a friend's house, etc.) so that if they dawdle too much or don't do it, they get less of something they really want. I try hard to avoid having clean-up be the last thing before bedtime.

Also, I recognize that (for my kids, at least) it just isn't realistic for them to clean up all their toys by themselves without prompting/helping.

I have taken things away when I've reminded them several times to put it away, and I'm still tripping over it. I've never actually thrown anything out (except random small junk they wouldn't remember), but I put things in time-out for a week or so. Usually, though, things wind up in time-out if they're being used inappropriately, or if the kids are so obsessed with some particular item that they can't put it down to focus on routine tasks.

 

Can I be TOTALLY honest here???? What is the natural consequence of them not picking up after themselves...........I trip over it, I stub my toe on it, I fall...etc. Then I get mad, sometimes very mad.


I think I am going to try out the idea in Dielle's link. I really like that idea. It just might work, well with one of them. The other one doesn't give two hoots if I trip over it. She's just too darn lazy to pick up. HMMMMM, but maybe if her tablet was in the box.........

 

When it's my kids' bedrooms..."Oops, looks like I can't walk into your room/next to your bed to read your book or tuck you in. I hope I'll be able to tomorrow night". Still working on natural consequences for the basement though. I have actually stepped on something and broken it before (not on purpose) so that really was natural. Sometimes toys disappear b/c they weren't cared enough about.

 

Definitely going to use this!!! I read this yesterday, but didn't have a chance to reply. I even had the kids come up with some consequences, so they know what they can pick out of the envelope.

 

I think it just depends. Is your rule that the toys are to be picked up every night by bedtime? Do they understand that the rule is every day? Or is it more that whenever it gets too bad you tell them to have it done today? If it's a daily chore, then there is no reason it should be difficult to remember.

We don't expect our kids to do things without reminding until they are about 10ish. So I remind them to pick up. If they disobey me by not doing what I tell them, then they would have a punishment for disobeying, so I guess it wouldn't really be about the toys, it would be about disobeying, lol.

For the 10 and up crowd, if I tell them to clean their room and they don't, everything still out goes in bags in the garage. They earn it back by doing extra chores.

 

I've gotten out the garbage bag. I only did it once when they were about 3. Now I just warn them that at the end of cleaning up, anything left on the floor will be tossed. I set a timer for cleaning to reduce the dinking around.

 

My kids aren't really old enough for this yet, but I'm wondering if it would work with DH. :laughing: He drives me crazy leaving stuff laying around all the time! :wacko:

 

:laughing: that made me snort!

 

OK. We started it last night. The kids were so intrigued, they purposely left something on the ground so they'd get to pick from the chore envelope. Of course, the first one pulled was the warning card, and she didn't have to do anything. They really enjoyed doing push ups and jumping jacks, when they pulled those (yes, my kids are odd). But, they kept doing things to pull the chore cards. One even pulled the card to empty all bathroom trash into one bag and bring out to trash can. She happily did the chore. I'm sure the novelty will wear off, but I'm liking it right now!

 

Oh, I am so going to do this!