How to teach the child to clean up after oneself?

Parents often worry that their children’s rooms are messy. Toys are scattered all around the room and the child is not willing to tidy it up. So, what to do to teach your child cleanliness? Colourful baskets, laughter and learning through playing will come to the rescue.

Doing the cleaning is not fun for the child, especially if the parents are forcing it to do it. The child considers it a boring and tedious chore. The children should not be absolved of these duties and should learn how to maintain cleanliness from an early age. But instead of using force and creating a stressful atmosphere, it is best to encourage and motivate them and prove that cleaning can be a fun activity.

Colourful baskets for toys

A basic way to keep the child's room in order is to buy baskets or other containers where you can store all the toys. Child should know where it can put its soft toy, doll or car once it is done playing. Even a three-year-old should know that each thing has its own designated place.

When choosing a basket or container for toys, we need to ensure that it is capacious, light and has useful handles. Then your child will be able to move the basket by itself. At uk.funwithmum.com you will find such handy baskets in two sizes. They are colourful and aesthetic – not only will they help your child to clean its space but also, they will be an additional decoration.

Apart from baskets, our offer includes floor mats that can also become a bag for toys. This is because the mat features practical flexible strings that makes it easily convertible into a bag full of your child’s toys once the play time is over.

Cleaning through play

So, we have a place where we can store our toys... What’s next? We need to show our child that tidying up is not a tedious chore but a fun activity. Children hate being bored, but they like to compete so maybe you could try to organise a race – the one who will have more toys in its container wins. You can also hold various competitions and games like throwing plush toys into basket from a distance. The result will be even better when there is a prize – the title of master of cleanness or colourful stickers. A great idea would be to play fun songs during cleaning. The games can be as varied as the parent’s creativity allows.

Parent being an example

Remember – if you want your child to keep its room in order you need to be an example they can follow. Children are good at observing and like to follow what the adults do. So, we should help them when cleaning and encourage them to help us. We should not yell, criticise and get angry because the child can be easily discouraged. Once the job is done, we need to praise the child and recognize its effort. Praising will bring us the necessary results.