Hey there! You're listening to the Mighty Mommy with some Quick and Dirty Tips for Practical Parenting . This week I'm please to introduce guest author Danielle Griggs. Danielle is a working mom of three children who along with her daughter, Bella, created Tidy Kidz™ to help kids develop good habits that will last them a lifetime and also encourage a harmonious family environment. You can visit the Tidy Kidz™ website at www.tidykidz.com. That's T I D Y K I D Z.com. Danielle has some wonderful tips to share with us!
Before I continue I would like to thank GoToMyPC for their continued sponsorship. From your laptop at home. An Internet café in Paris. A hotel business center. Anywhere with an Internet connection, you can access your office computer and conduct business as usual. But only with GoToMyPC, can you do it with comfort and ease. Brought to you by Citrix, GoToMyPC is more secure than online banking. So hackers don't stand a chance. Try GoToMyPC FREE right now for 30 days. Visit GoToMyPC.com/podcast. That's GoToMyPC.com/podcast for a free 30 day trial. How to Get Your Kids to Clean Up Now, let's see what tips Danielle has to offer those of us who need some tips on how to convince our children to be little helpers when it comes to clean-up time. Some things just never change and this particular issue is no different. You CANNOT expect your little people to keep their rooms picked up if your room looks like a set for the show Clean House (prior to the clean part). You may get lucky a time or two but ultimately our kids do what we do, not what we say. Go ahead and argue with yourself; I'll wait… Great! So glad you are back and hopefully you have reached your senses and understand that “monkey see, monkey do” is more than just a quaint phrase. We have all watched our kids emulate grown-up behavior and it's no accident that children of all ages, socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities, religions and so on do it! It's universal! They will emulate the good and the bad no matter how much we try to tell them what to do and how to do it. They are watching us!
Set a Good Example by Cleaning Your Room So ask yourself this question, “Am I doing the things I am asking of my kids?” I know that was not nice. Was it? Depending on your answer, you are feeling somewhere between the June Cleaver type and the Tazmanian Devil. If you are June Cleaver you may be thinking all is well with the world. I'm not really concerned about offending any Junes out there because the Junes are doing all the work themselves and probably aren't reading this anyway. As for the Taz's, you know who you are. Just admit it. Chances are you already feel bad enough about the state of your own stuff, so let me approach this from somewhere around the middle.
You've just got to do it! Here are a few tips to get you started: Start by making your bed; it's big and just doing that alone makes a noticeable difference. Next, pick up everything from floor and pile it on your bed. Set your timer for seven minutes and don't stop moving until it's all put away, PROPERLY! Yes you do only have 7 minutes so MOVE IT. Don't turn of the timer until you're done. Next, address the dresser. What in the world is all that stuff doing up there? Get a trash bag since half of it can be thrown away anyway. If you are a pocket paper collector, get a colorful jar and use it to store your 80 million tiny pieces of paper that pile up on the dresser once you've purged your pockets. Go through it once a month and purge old receipts, notes to self, and any other items you no longer need. One way to keep the bedroom from going bonkers is to NOT, NOT, NOT bring anything in that is not “bedroomy”. There is no reason for your gardening shoes to be in your closet, or for the week's mail to be on top of the 80 million little pieces of paper on your dresser. If it doesn't come in it won't have to be taken out. Make it a rule, and then follow it!
Get in touch with your inner child and make a chart. Use it to make sure you pay at least five minutes of attention to your room everyday. I can say from experience, five minutes a day is all you really need to keep your room from becoming the very thing your sweet little people use against you when you ask them to clean theirs!
I'd like to thank Danielle Griggs for these fun and helpful tips! I'm actually trying to follow these tips myself. I'm definitely guilty of not being as tidy as I'd like to be. We are all working on it together around our house. Please be sure to check out the Tidy Kidz™ website at www.tidykidz.com for more tips and some really cool videos!
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This is your friend the Mighty Mommy wishing you happy and fun parenting!
