A clean and organized house and parenting often present conflicting pictures. If you are hell bent on having a clean and organized house, think for a while that once your kid’s childhood has gone, it will NEVER come back. These days most of us live in confined spaces and kids are the worst sufferer of this modern day phenomenon. Due to safety reasons they can’t spend enough time outdoors alone and you can not tag along with them all the time. And when they play indoors and start spilling water or papers or colors on the floor, we especially mothers start wearing their squeaky clean avatar.
Take a break and think for a while, at what cost you want a swanky neat house? Because on surface it seems your kid is playing and making house disorganized and dirty. But if you give your kid’s play a thought, you will realize that your kid is not just playing. Try to look at the following and give it a thought.
If you try to observe nature, you can see that animals who have to learn more, play more. Carnivorous play more than herbivorous animals because hunting requires more skill than grazing. When kids play they naturally leave house and its floor dirty and create chaos too. But its better to have all these things than curbing your kid’s natural instincts and curbing their creativity and imaginary models.
Here I don’t mean that you should encourage kids to clutter and make everything topsy turvy. Or you should forget about having a clean and organized house. All I mean is this should not be achieved at the cost of childhood. You can use your imagination to have a neat and clean house and have your peace of mind too. Here are the few simple tips, you can easily apply to have an organized house :
- Give Your Kid A Spare Bed sheet :
- Specify The Time of Play :
- Encourage Kids To Clean Up After Their Playtime Is Over :
- Take Some of Their Toys Away :
- Create A Space For Their Stuff :
Encourage your kid to be a Picasso on a big spare bed sheet. This way his / her coloring and chaotic activities will be confined to a specified area and so will be your cleaning. Give them some sponge and a mop and encourage them to use it in case they spill colors and water on the floor.
Kid’s playtime should be specific, this way you too will know the time of clutter and chaos. You know beforehand when the kid will get dirty and make your house dirty and plan accordingly. Encourage the kid not to be untidy after his / her playtime is over. You can sit with the kid and explain the virtue of neatness and cleanliness. According to your kid’s age, you can tell him / her why its not OK to clutter all the time. There is a time and place for every activity.
Develop it as a habit when they are young. So that they can consider it as a normal after play activity. If your kid is small, ask for his / her help in cleaning up. They will do it willingly. Kids love doing stuff with parents. Try not to be bossy and controlling. Ask for their suggestions.
If kids litter and throw their toys indiscriminately, take those toys away, saying, “Since you have thrown them so carelessly, it seems you don’t need them. I am going to give them away!” This will make them realize the value of their stuff and putting them in order.
Create a definite space for their toys, clothes, books and shoes. They should know where dirty clothes should go and where neat clothes are being kept. Kids like a definite pattern to follow. Create such pattern from an early age.
Its not difficult to have a neat and clean house. All you have to do is strike a balance between kids’ activities and getting the mess cleared afterwards. We should bear in mind the fact that childhood is precious and best part of one’s life. This should not be compromised.
