How Do I Teach My Child to Keep Their Room Clean?
Introduction
Kids having a messy room might seem normal. They'll eventually grow out of it – right? But how do you know when it's become a problem and you need to intervene? Here are some signs:
Your child is constantly losing their things.
You are spending way too much time cleaning their space, time that could be used for other household chores or activities.
You are starting to notice ants, bugs, and flies.
There's little space for movement, and items on the floor have become a trip hazard.
You and your child feel significant stress about the state of their room but can’t seem to get it in order.
In this article, we will talk about why maintaining a clean space can be very challenging for kids and how we can teach them to take responsibility for keeping their room clean and develop lifelong habits of cleanliness.
Why does this happen?
Overwhelmed kids
Cleaning up can be overwhelming for kids because it involves tasks that require sustained effort, organization, and attention to detail. Their tendency to overestimate the perceived size of the task may further contribute to feelings of overwhelm. So instead, many of them resort to shoving everything underneath the bed as a quick fix.
Procrastination
Just like adults, kids procrastinate and put off cleaning tasks because they seem boring or difficult. They may also experience anxiety about cleaning perfectly which can lead to avoidance because the task feels unattainable. There’s also the anxiety about others judging their cleaning standards or abilities.
Distractions
Why bother picking up the vacuum when you can scroll on your phone and watch Netflix all day? With so many distractions, kids may not even realize that their room needs cleaning.
Difficulty with organization
Cleaning a room requires high-level organization skills. Implementing a cleaning schedule, deciding where things belong, decluttering, categorizing. These may come easy to others, but unfortunately, can be very difficult for kids who are still developing these skills or experiencing executive dysfunction.
Challenges with planning and prioritizing
Cleaning a room often involves creating a plan of action, deciding which tasks to tackle first, and breaking down larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps. Children with executive dysfunction may struggle to create, initiate, and follow through with such plans.
Unclear Expectations:
If parents haven't set clear expectations for what a clean room looks like, kids might not know what is expected of them. This is where HabitCoach comes in.
Strategies on How to Keep Your Child’s Room Tidy
Model How to Clean
Most of the time, it’s not about being lazy or having a lack of motivation. Some children simply do not have the executive functioning skills to initiate, follow through, and manage a task like keeping their room clean. Showing them where things belong and going through the motions of cleaning up with them will help them see how it’s done and build on their skills.
Everything Has a Home
Every item in your house should have a designated spot or container. Invest in storage and organization items, such as bins of various sizes, shelves, drawers, dividers, and clear storage containers. Put labels on each drawer or container so that your child knows where to find and place their things. Make storage easy to use for your child by using easy to access storage containers and closet space. Remind your child not to hide things under the bed or in random/unlabeled drawers, cabinets, etc. For children with executive dysfunction, out of sight is out of mind.
Have Schedules and Checklists
It may help your child to have a chore checklist with pictures and/or tick boxes. For example:
Daily chores: place dirty clothes in the laundry basket, clear off desk.
Weekly chores: on Fridays, empty trash; Saturday, vacuum floors; Sunday, change bed linens.
This will not only break down the tasks involved in keeping their room clean but also gives them a scheduled time for cleaning. But make sure this is not overwhelming! Start slowly by giving them 1-2 chores at the beginning and progressively building responsibility.
Doom Piles
Have a bin or box for “doom piles” for miscellaneous items that don’t have a home yet. This pile can be organized during the weekend with parent support if necessary.
Get Your Child Involved
Involve your child in the process. Ask them questions like:
How do they want to organize and decorate their space?
When would be the best time for them to do certain things?
What chores do they need most help with?
Which chores do they like doing the most?
These questions will help them feel like you’re a team and will increase a sense of ownership and responsibility.
If you’d like to learn more tips on how to encourage your child to keep their room tidy, Our coaches at Habit Coach can teach your child healthy habits like keeping their room clean.
