kids messy rooms.....

devil_in_a_blue_dress

I'm a 20 something, and although I live on my own now, my mum sort of let it go when I was at home.

My room was my space, and as long as there was no food left out to attract bugs/whatever, and no dishes left there to be forgotten about, I could keep it how I wanted it. Eventually I started cleaning it on my own.

Outside of my room though, I was expected to help with my share of the cleaning.

This is how things were at my house too. I was about 12 when my parents' stopped bugging me to clean up my room. So long as there wasn't food and I wasn't leaving wet towels in there balled up on the floor, I was basically left alone.

KimiSteinbach

I'm a 20 something, and although I live on my own now, my mum sort of let it go when I was at home.

My room was my space, and as long as there was no food left out to attract bugs/whatever, and no dishes left there to be forgotten about, I could keep it how I wanted it. Eventually I started cleaning it on my own.

Outside of my room though, I was expected to help with my share of the cleaning.

This is how things were at my house too. I was about 12 when my parents' stopped bugging me to clean up my room. So long as there wasn't food and I wasn't leaving wet towels in there balled up on the floor, I was basically left alone.

How is your house looking now? Are you tidy or not?

phuckingbadasscutie

I have 4 boys, oldest is 8 youngest is 1. The older 2 do all their own cleaning of the bedroom and they know that dirty clothes will not get washed unless they bring the hamper to the laundry room. They also have household chores like dishes, garbage, recycling etc. I also want them to know these for when they are older and to know that they have responsibilities that will not be done for them.
My 2.5 year old does help also but not as much of course at this point though. He loves to vacuum and help put clean dishes away so those are his chores. Overall it shows that everyone in the house had a role and responsibility and it's not just moms job to do these tasks.

My little guy is going on 8 - he an clean his room as good as I can. It took a lot of time in the beginning- time to show him how its done...how to sort things, where it all goes etc but now he is good to go. He could probably do the laundry by himself too if I let him. We had to put in a little extra work laying the foundation to support our expectations of him, but it pays off in the end. These are all things he will need to do for himself in his life so as parents its our job to make sure he can and will do these things- clean his area, brush his teeth, etc etc. We will continue these good habits and boundaries as he grows so there isnt any surprises when hes 16 and smelly on how to take care of himself and his stinky clothes and his room.

On a side note, when I was a kid my parents never taught me how to clean my room, so it was a struggle and it was a lot harder to learn that skill later on but even a 16 yr old can learn new tricks. Just a take a little time with him/her and explain the importance of this skill in their life and get their buy-in. Sounds easier than it is but it can be done.

DawnieB1977

My kids are 2 and 4. They share a room, although they tend to play in the lounge more. They tidy up their lego, train track, books etc in the evening before bed.

They also put dirty laundry in the basket, put dirty things in the dishwasher, put rubbish in the bin etc. My daughter (the 2 year old) likes to help me sort clothes out to put them away.

195to135

clean your own room or your crap gets thrown in the trash

That's the rule here.
When mine we're younger they cleaned up more often as they didn't like their toys being tossed, now at 16 & 17 its clothes and video games and their room is fairly messy I let it slide for a month and just close their door and then once a month go in and toss everything. Now that the 17 year old is buying his own clothes and 50 dollar video games he keeps his stuff fairly clean while his brother could care less, today is pre-spring cleaning so both will rush to save stuff they don't want to lose but odds are they will lose a garbage bag worth of stuff.

VBnotbitter

As long as no food gets left in there and he brings out his laundry, it's his room. Why spend every day nagging over something that doesn't really matter?

DawnieB1977

I'm a 20 something, and although I live on my own now, my mum sort of let it go when I was at home.

My room was my space, and as long as there was no food left out to attract bugs/whatever, and no dishes left there to be forgotten about, I could keep it how I wanted it. Eventually I started cleaning it on my own.

Outside of my room though, I was expected to help with my share of the cleaning.

This is interesting to me. I may start a new thread asking people of this age how they feel and if they eventually; once they moved out kept up a clean place......or not.

Very thought provoking...

My brother was a right slob when he lived at home, but when he moved out in his early 20s he became really house proud. He's 30 now and his house is immaculate, despite having a 1 year old!

19TaraLynn84

As long as no food gets left in there and he brings out his laundry, it's his room. Why spend every day nagging over something that doesn't really matter?

If it matters to the parents, that's all that matters! And here's what I got told one time when I pulled the "It's my room" card. "It's MY room. I paid for the house. I'm letting you borrow the room until you move out and then you can buy your own." Something to that effect, anyway.

VBnotbitter

As long as no food gets left in there and he brings out his laundry, it's his room. Why spend every day nagging over something that doesn't really matter?

If it matters to the parents, that's all that matters! And here's what I got told one time when I pulled the "It's my room" card. "It's MY room. I paid for the house. I'm letting you borrow the room until you move out and then you can buy your own." Something to that effect, anyway.

I guess it's about priorities. I'm a very relaxed parent with that, just as long as the house is peaceful

MrsG31

I have 4 boys, oldest is 8 youngest is 1. The older 2 do all their own cleaning of the bedroom and they know that dirty clothes will not get washed unless they bring the hamper to the laundry room. They also have household chores like dishes, garbage, recycling etc. I also want them to know these for when they are older and to know that they have responsibilities that will not be done for them.
My 2.5 year old does help also but not as much of course at this point though. He loves to vacuum and help put clean dishes away so those are his chores. Overall it shows that everyone in the house had a role and responsibility and it's not just moms job to do these tasks.

I wish my 2.5 would help vacum! He is still scared of it! Whenever it is brought out, he wants to be held, lol. But other than that, I agree that at this age they love to help - he throws away trash, brings his dinner things to the sink, will help unload the dishwasher, put his dirty clothes in his hamper. He also likes to come to the garage with me and put clothing into the washer and dryer. And he always insists on putting his own dirty diapers in the trash, including the stinky ones that go outside! I mean, like, he has melt down if he doesn't get to do some of these things. It is sort of hilarious, but I know it won't last.