Give the kids the responsibility of keeping their room tidy.
The best way to do this is to teach them how. Kids don’t always intuitively know what it means when we, as parents, say, “Clean your room!”
Kids have a tendency to come up with their own definition of clean. To them, if they just pick up some Lego, then its cleaner than it was. Maybe cleaning the room means just spending some time in it. Maybe cleaning the room means actually dusting it or vacuuming. It can be a very vague task for them to figure out.
It’s best to set their expectations!
One way to make it really easy for kids to follow along is to use an index card and write out all the things you know they can do based on their age.
If your kids are really young, the card may just have pictures on it. You could print off pictures of toys going into a bin or clothes going into a drawer, for example. At the younger ages, it’s best to keep the tasks simple and short to complete.
As they get older, you can start changing the task descriptions from pictures to words. Over time, start to add even more tasks as they become more capable of managing their room.
The index card may eventually look like a normal adult chore list for a room. It could detail out things like: Put clean laundry away (they should build up to eventually know how to fold clothes to make them fit nicely where they belong or to hang clothes on hangers); Put away toys or belongings from the floor; Make your bed; Straighten your book shelf (you can define this as the kids grow up so that you can eventually use simpler language and they will still understand); Put away things from your desk; Wipe desk; Make bed, etc. You can specify any task that you think or know them to be capable of.
Pro tip: You can even laminate the card so they can cross things off when they are done, but still reuse the card daily or weekly!
There also may be some things that are specific to each kid or each room that you want to detail out onto the cards.
Kids are so much more capable than we give them credit for. Let them surprise you with their effort. Things may not be done the way that you would do them, but you are doing them a service by letting them take responsibility for their space. They will be better equipped to handle taking care of their place when (or if…) they move out!
Maybe one day they will have clean rooms!
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