Tips for Keeping a Clean Room
Teaching Tweens Responsibility and Orderliness
By the age of 9, a child has the mental capacity to take pride in belongings and the ability to stay on task with cleaning her room. By the time your child is a tween, cleaning her room should no longer be a power struggle. If it is, here are some tips to nip it in the bud quickly.
Schedule a Cleaning Day
Kids work best when they have a routine. They know what is expected of them, and when it is expected. There are no surprises. Make the day for room cleaning the same every week. Schedule this day when there is free time during the week. It would not work so well to schedule around game days, family outings, or other activities that your child may be involved with. In fact, give your child the choice of the day and time, and she may be more receptive to keeping up with it.
Supply Adequate Storage Space
Take inventory of your child's room and make sure that there is enough storage to house all of her things. If need be, you can purchase storage bins at places like Wal-Mart or Target that are relatively inexpensive to help with clutter control. Have your child label bins, so it is easy to tell where things go and where to find things that go together (i.e., hair accessories, dress shoes/play shoes).
Make Supplies Accessible
Make sure your child knows where the furniture polish, vacuum cleaner, dust rags, and window cleaner are located. Make them easy for her to get to by herself. Make sure there is a fresh supply of cleaning products. Don't give your child the excuse for not cleaning because there were no supplies.
Be a Coach
If your tween has never taken on this responsibility before, work with her the first few times to show her how to clean a room correctly. Working together can make the job more fun! But, do not get in the habit of doing this every time. She needs to make cleaning a priority in her life, not yours. If you constantly, help the novelty will soon wear off and you may find yourself working at it alone.
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