Kids clean their rooms, true story or urban myth?
1. De-clutter it. It's all your stuff - you bought it, you own it. Get a REASONABLE amount of stuff in their rooms. I've been in your houses people. TOO. MUCH. STUFF.
2. Chill-the-***-out. If we are worked up, emotional and disappointed in them, guess what?! They will HATE cleaning their room because we are being big ole jerks. Remember, what gets fired together gets wired together.
When we FIRE negative energy around tidying rooms. We blame, shame and use pain to try to motivate them to clean up. We accidentally WIRE tidying room with stress and anxiety and kids begin to avoid at all costs tidying their rooms. I'll say it again, what gets fired together gets wired together.
3. Slow and Short. Ask your child how long they can tolerate cleaning. Take 5 minutes off that time and use a timer. Even if they are being super good at cleaning and cooperative, STOP at the designated time. Better to leave the party when you are still having fun then to regret what you do late night, ya know what I'm saying, people? Also, move glacially, slowly. Try to do less. I don't know why this works, but try it. If I'm overwhelmed, I slow waaaaaay down!
BONUS GUEST BLOG FROM PEP LEADER SUZANNE RITTER!
Summers with young children are bitter sweet; filled with lazy afternoons, slip and slides, popsicles and filled with rinsing sand and sunscreen from burning little eyes, pushing hot, hungry children around town and singing for hours in the car to sick or tired ones on the family vacation.
Raising young children can be physically exhausting and mentally numbing. While we all have parenting challenges, did you know many can be prevented, avoided sidestepped or at least handled more effectively?
In Bootcamp you can expect to:
1) Gain a better understanding of your child’s development and what it means to be an effective parent in today’s world.
2) Learn to set limits and solve behavior problems calmly and consistently.
3) Use positive discipline methods to address tantrums, power struggles and other misbehavior.
4) Foster cooperation and responsibility.
5) rediscover the joy of parenting