Can you live a clutter-free life when you have young children at home?
I just saw a life and parenting coach (whatever that is) on CNN discussing ways parents can model behavior that will encourage their children to pick-up after themselves minus the whining, kvetching and maniacal meltdowns.
The so-called “expert” recommended that moms and dads keep their bedroom as clean as they want their child’s room to be. Because it would be totally hypocritical to expect your child’s room to be cleaner than the rest of the house, right?
Wrong.
When a toy tornado rips through your home and you are forced to pick up balls, trucks, Legos and swords in order clear a path to the bathroom, the word priority comes to mind. It’s not as though parents willing choose to have their bedrooms resemble a pigsty, but if you have just 20 minutes to clean per night, it’s often safer to clear that path so the entire family can escape during a fire than spend time making sure your love nest is spotless. At least in my humble opinion.
Listen, I get what the life coach is getting at. Parents should define how important cleaning and organization are to them, and figure out a way to convey that to their kids. By making clean-up a part of your daily routine, getting kids involved at a young age and being consistent about your expectations, you leave little room for complaining.
By the way, the “expert” also suggested that kids should not be rewarded for pitching in around the house. Rather than paying kids an allowance for making their beds or putting wet towels in the hamper, the life coach advised parents to create a specific “family clean-up time” whereby the entire clan devotes 20 to 30 minutes to cleaning and organizing the house. The philosophy is to make cleaning a team sport with the reward being special family bonding time and a healthy sense of accomplishment when the task is complete.
What do you make of the expert’s tips? What’s your family’s cleaning routine? More importantly, what would your kid say if you made him clean the basement with the reward of spending time with mom, dad, sis and bro?
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