How to teach a child to order: useful tips

Our children grow up and from helpless lumps turn into independent adults who can already do a lot without the help of their parents. The first steps and words, the ability to eat independently, go to the pot - all this is taught to children by mothers and fathers, grandparents. And the way a child grows up, for the most part, depends on the adults around him. His character, skills, abilities and skills are laid in early childhood, even at a subconscious level. And one of the main character traits of the baby that you must cultivate in him is a love of order and cleanliness.

It seems to some children that throwing clothes and shoes in different directions after arriving home is normal. And why bother if the mother will clean up after the baby anyway? And mom, with sighs, once again folds her pants and looks for a pair of socks under the sofa. Is it normal? Isn’t it better to spend a little time and nerves once in order to teach a child to fold clothes than to take apart a mess over and over again? Here is a very thin line of psychology and pedagogy, which should not force a child to something. He himself must understand that folding clothes after changing clothes is good, that everyone should clean up the toys behind him. And then at least a relative order will come in your family.

Parent example

If you want to accustom your child to order, pay attention to yourself. Most of the children (especially small ones) copy the behavior of their parents in many aspects of social life. When a baby is born, he lives in a family and does not see another environment and other rules of behavior. If dad scatters dirty socks and mom doesn’t wipe the dust, he thinks that it’s necessary, that it should be so. And if suddenly one day you ask the child to wipe the plates, although you yourself have never done this, for him it will be nonsense. If you want to accustom your baby to order, start with yourself.

How to teach your baby order

Valeria, the mother of four-year-old Igor, says that collecting toys for them is a real torture. Once she said to her son: “If you don’t collect toys, they will be offended by you and will go to the neighbor boy Seryozha.” The son skipped words, but in the morning there were no toys. Mom said with disappointment that for sure the toys went to Seryozha, because Igor does not like them and does not collect them after the game. Of course, after some time the basket with toys was returned to its rightful place, but the boy no longer neglected his duty. Igor began to always collect cars and the designer after the game, fearing that they, again offended, would leave somewhere.

The rest of the baby from an early age sees how and what is being done in the house. Ask your child to take the shoes off the shelf on their own after arriving from the street. Be sure to praise his actions, even if they turn out to be completely inept, the main thing is a rush.Encourage, notice and praise any initiative that comes from the child regarding cleaning. Cause the baby positive emotions associated with restoring order. Cleaning can also be fun - just turn on the energetic music!

How to teach children order and cleanliness

Here are simple rules to help you teach your child order and cleanliness.

1. Children over five can make a beautiful memo that will help them not to forget about their responsibilities. At this age, the baby can water the flowers, wipe off the dust, clean the table, help mom set the table, clean and fold clothes and shoes, collect dirty laundry in the basket, and make up her bed. If there is an animal in the house, you also need to teach your child to look after him - to clean the tray, place of eating, walking the pet. Write a to-do list in the prepared memo and give the child the opportunity to mark the tasks completed for today. For the child it will be interesting and exciting.
2. Do not try to put too much on the child, even if he is 10, and he can do everything. Today let him vacuum, tomorrow he will sort through the magazines, and the day after tomorrow he will wash the floor in the nursery. Excessive workload will cause an aversion to household chores and worries.
3. It is very effective in the morning, before the whole family goes to work, to kindergarten and to school, to hang up a to-do list for everyone on the refrigerator. For example, dad - pick up a coat from a dry cleaning service, mom - pay for utilities, Sasha - vacuum. So the child understands that he is in a system where everyone has their own responsibilities. He will feel like an adult who also performs his part of the general tasks.
4. Adolescent children are very difficult to get cleaned if they do not want to. However, you can find the right strings. Tell the child that he will probably be ashamed if his friends come to visit and see such a mess in his room. The teenager will think about it and will probably want to put things in order.
5. If you entrusted a child of any age with a task, do not do it yourself. If your son or daughter does not want to clean up your desk, do not do it for the child. Better remind him of this or somehow motivate the task. In the end, you can say, “You won’t go play football until the table is clean.”
6. Sometimes for cleaning you may need a person who is the authority for the child. For example, it may be an older brother, grandfather, or kindergarten teacher. Sometimes a reminder of a familiar name is enough to make a child clean. For example, "Yes, your grandfather would be proud if he knew that you yourself have cleaned your room." And seal it with a bell to grandfather with a story about the independence of the grandson. Such tricks are often much more effective than coercion.
7. When you ask your child about certain actions, do not forget to specify your words. Do not say: "When will you clean your room", but say: "By tonight the room should be cleaned." If the baby is small enough, do not tell him: “Take it after you”, but say: “The cup should be taken to the sink and washed, books should be laid out on shelves, and socks should be put in the cupboard”. Sometimes children do not complete tasks because they simply do not understand the meaning of your words.
8. Sometimes it is very useful for a child to visit the places of his “future” work. If the baby wants to become a doctor, pay his attention to the doctor’s desk during the next appointment. Let him note for himself that the table is clean, all objects are ordered. Say that if the child really wants to become a doctor, he will have to get used to order now. Sometimes this is a good enough argument.

How to teach a slut to order

Often there are times when a child does not want to follow elementary rules of order, no matter what you do. This usually happens with teenagers that you just took on.Learn to admit to yourself that this is your mistake. Sometimes mothers (and especially grandmothers) do everything for the child, not allowing him to perform even simple tasks. The child grows and gets used to the fact that everything is always done for him, he is actually served. In such situations, you do not need to swear, blackmail and force. Tell the teenager that if he doesn’t wash the plate after breakfast, then he will have lunch and then he will have dinner out of it. Do not deviate from your words. Let him understand that eating from clean dishes is pleasant. If a teenager does not want to fulfill his part of household chores (for example, vacuuming), say that tomorrow you will cook only for yourself. Do not back down from your words, you need to break your child. He must understand that the family is a commune, where everyone must do something for the common good and he will not be able to live a drone.

What can not be done

Sometimes parents by their behavior themselves discourage the child from the hunt for cleanliness and order. To prevent this from happening to you, you need to beware of some statements.

1. Do not scold the baby, even if he did something wrong. If your daughter is washing dishes, but does not do it very well, you do not need to focus on this. Do not tell the child that there are greasy stains on the plates, but praise the child for the washed dishes. So you can discourage the child from any desire for action. Of course, this does not apply to adult children - they definitely need to point out the oversights and ask them to be more careful next time.
2. Respect and appreciate the work of the child. If your child has washed the floor, do not dare to walk on it in dirty boots.
3. Do not prohibit listening to music or turning on the TV during cleaning. The main thing is that this does not interfere with the main activity.
4. Do not scold the child if he has not done something. Just ask him in private why this happened. Perhaps the baby really forgot about your assignment, because this happens even with adults.
5. When you explain the advantages of order in an apartment to your daughter, you don’t need to put pressure on the fact that “you are a girl”. This is especially true when the family has heterosexual children. Responsibilities should be equal. The boy also needs to be neat and try to keep his things clean.

Raising a child and accustoming him to order is a painstaking task. You need to start from infancy, setting the baby's own example. Do not scold for oversights, encourage initiative, praise for order, and then the desire for cleanliness will be natural and laid-back.

Video: how to teach a child to clean up toys