What To Do When Your Child Doesn’t Pick Up Their Toys

One of the problems all parents have in common is getting their kids to pick up after themselves. You must have already discovered that yelling and banging your head on the walling doesn’t work. Kicking at toys doesn’t work either. The thing is, kids are just messy. It is innate. Before anything else, you need to understand that they don’t really mean harm by messing up, they just can’t help it, it’s all the curiosity and excitement. It can be pretty frustrating but there are a few things you can do to help them help you.

1. Talk to them

Try talking to your child about why they need to clean up after themselves. Make them understand that they have a responsibility to clean up. Explain how it inconveniences the both of you: “when you don’t pick up your toys after you are done, mummy has to use the time she has to spend with you, to pick it up”. You can remind them of a time when they needed something but couldn’t find it because they didn’t stow it away when they were done using it.

Make it a routine to remind your kid when to pick up their toys. For example; “before lunch we pick up the toys”. If you have a particular time for picking up and putting away toys, it will be easier for your child to learn.

Notify your child that it will be toy packing time a few minutes before so they will mentally prepare for it.

2. Motivate them

You can motivate your child to pick up their toys when they are done by rewarding them occasionally. Offer them something you know they would appreciate or find exciting, like allowing them to do something that you normally wouldn’t (provided it is safe), spending a day together at the park, a movie, a new toy etc. Your child will love to pick up a few toys for a treat but be careful not to make them feel like they should get paid to do it.

3. Competition

You can actually turn toy picking into fun. You can have your kids play games like: who picks up the most toys in 10 seconds. The thought of a race and winning is exciting enough to get kids picking even without an incentive. This doesn’t only work with picking up toys, you can get your kids to help with the cleaning around the house that way too. If you have one child, you can have them compete with you – make it look like its actually taking an effort. They can also try to beat their previous record. Keep records on a board or chart somewhere in the house where your kid can see it.

If you stick to this method, you will find that your kid will start clearing up after themselves without you remining them.

Good Luck!