J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I have 3 kids, all boys aged 6, 8 and 9 and am starting to lose the plot with the mess they make, dont get me wrong I wouldnt have it any other way but jesus the mess.

Today, the shed got emptied of every toy, their living room has been decimated with toys everywhere, plates, cups and toffee wrappers.

I tell them every day, week in week out but they take no notice, they leave Xbox games on the floor and got bollocked when I found Halo in two pieces, I reduced them to tears because I removed the Xbox for a week, lesson learnt ? no chance, still coming in to find Dvds and games on the floor.

I mean, they are not babies, they are all very bright, the eldest especially so but despite his IQ the lazy little sod still cant summon up the energy to flush the toliet, very rarely do you find an empty toilet in our house, always a lurker.

Their bedrooms are a tip, you tidy it or force them to do it and within an hour its knee depp in ****e again, they get too many toys, I just didnt have that many (yes I know I sound like my dad), everybody feels the need to buy them something, they have a party for twenty kids on a birthday and get twenty presents each about a tenner, we had 30 Action Men at last count, I had 1 as a kid and I was happy with it, I think if anything the sheer ammount of stuff overwhelms them, my mum goes bargain hunting and loves getting them stuff, so she sees something in TK Maxx reduced, rather than making the saving and feeling tight she buys 2 items each with about 500 separate bits. If I say anything like we are grateful but could you perhaps buy them less she gets the huff and then does it again at Christmas.

Anyway, they go back to school next weds so I am having Thursday and Friday off to tidy up but would welcome any suggestions as to how to get through to the little gits.

Chip

Dont worry your not the only one. Seems all kids are the same.

Chip

Jaydee5

Wait til they're all in their twenties....they go through the *sausage machine* process of teens and come out the other end as *people*


It's just that you're in for the long haul I'm afraid....don't fight it

Lee247

I've got a boy and a girl and believe me, my daughters room is a disgrace, much worse than my sons.
Grin and bear it, its not worth the stress.

ScoobyDoo555

I've got the smae problem - a 2yr old and a 5yr old (both girls). Lurkers too

I got round it by getting a puppy. Little ****** chews anything thats on the floor - in other words, TOYS!!!!!



Not the big expensive stuff, just the **** that comes with accessories etc - the stuff that when you're kneeling on the floor, gets right underneath your kneecap!!!

The kids are learnig pretty quickly that if they want their toys to be rescued, tidy up quicky!!! Anything crap/unwanted gets destroyed,binned. A kind of Toysrus darwinism

Just about to convert the one bedroom into a playroom, and put bunkbeds in the other. Gets all of the toys out of the way............. I hope. (I have a feeling we could be proven very wrong with this idea - on SO many levels............ )

Dan

fast bloke

Easy fix - I just tell the kids 'Tidy up time - anything that isn't where it should be in 10 minutes goes in the bin' (Then make sure the x-box and expensive stuff get tidied first.) After 10 minutes start chucking stuff in the bin. You will have to throw stuff in the bin approximately once. After that they won't take the chance - It will only work if you are brutal the first time though - if you give them 'one last chance' they know you will not go through with it

fast bloke

very very very wrong - we have an upstairs playroom, a downstairs playroom, a wendy house in the garden and a shed for toys. It just means that you can hold on to the crap they haven't looked at for 3 years. Then you feel bad about dumping so many toys in one go so you try to give them to charity. Unfortunately charity knows better and doesn't want to clutter all their shops with the useless crap you can't face binning.

scoobypreza

Thats just what I was going to say.

You may have already done all this but ......

When you tell them to go and tidy their rooms, show them exactly what you mean by tidy.
Give them some new storage boxes if need be and show them you want everything put away in the boxes or what ever storage you have.

Set a timer and see who can tidy their room before it runs out?
You could have a reward chart thing? .... Just a simple grid with some happy faces will do.

If they are still taking no notice then out with the bin bag and everything left on the floor goes.
Physically take them to the bin so they can watch the stuff go in.

There may be tears but you have to do it.

(You can fish the bag out later and after so many weeks of following the rules they can earn them back maybe???)

Sounds like time to go back to school me thinks!

cath

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Tried it all, hopefully may get through one day, the little on (6) might get into the happy faces thing, the other two would **** themselves at it and then just go back to playing Half Life 2, turning off the pc is where its at I think.

scoobypreza

well your gonna have to hit them where it hurts then.....

goodbye computer games!

scoobypreza

Right this is something I use at school you could try with the older ones.....

We have a card system like football.
Start the week with a green card.
If a rule is broken then the card is chaged for a yellow card
Two yellows make a red
Red means punishment.... I dunno take a game off them?

Maybe if they have a green card at the end of the week they get some money towards a new game?

In school they get points for a green card. At the end of the week the one with the most points gets a prize.

Might sound like a load of cr@p but it works with the kids at my primary school.

I'm still thinking of ideas for you!

cath

Jaydee5

I can only repeat....it's a process that parents and kids go through. Be assured, as a parent, that as long as you have some element of order and expectation of your kids...you will survive!...and so will they!! It's always best that your kids make all their mistakes at home..with you.

Don't ever expect to get it right...and don't get stressed out that you aren't being *super parent*.

One day you will look back at these years and wish you had them back

scoobypreza

That all so true...
Well said Jaydee

Tiggs

BIN BAGS

once a month i go in theri room and let them know its bin bag time...they have 1hr then anything not put away goes in the bag - i then put it in the loft. This has 2 benifits.......

1. They tidy pretty quick or

2. They soon forget the crap in the loft and get by just fine with less toys (like a toy cull) They soon build up new crap with birthdays and stuff......its just like burning the forest to cause new growth!

I must have 10 bags in the loft FULL of toys.

As for the living room............

We have a 9 year old....old eneough to keep toys out the lounge

5 year old.....allowed a toy in the lounge but must remove it by bedtime.

2 year old - allowed to keep 1 small toy box in the lounge - at bedtime he cleans up or its in the bin........you let a 2 year old watch his fave teddy go in the bin and you'll be amazed had quick they catch on

r32

Sounds like discipline needed. They dont respond because your threats are empty. Warn them that if stuff is not put away it either gets taken away for a couple of weeks or put in the bin, but you have to do it...... Dont let them have friends in to play or let them go out to play until they tidy up.... be strong or your going to regret it for a long time........

Leslie

As Fast Boy aid, you have to show the hard face of authority and dont let them get away with it. They will respect you for it eventually.

Les

mad_dr

Time for a bonfire! Next time they're all out and have left the place in a tip, gather everything up into black bags, light a bonfire and make sure they come home to see you throwing 'something' onto the fire.

You don't actually have to destory any of the toys but hopefully the sheer terror will be enough to shake them into action.

Or - buy this: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/XBox-Console-U...QQcmdZViewItem

And next time the place is a tip, lose the plot and shout "RIGHT! THAT'S IT!" then grab the Xbox, open a window and let Newton's laws sort out the rest!