clean up this mess!
At 9:30 this morning I sent the kids downstairs to clean up the basement. I told them they had to stay down there until they cleaned up their toys. A few weeks ago I sorted everything, pulled out garbage, stuff they don't play with anymore, etc. so it's actually very manageable. All they have to do is take the stuff off the floor and put it in the buckets. I told them that if they hurried up and cleaned up that I'd make them tea and a snack. Had I been standing over them and snapping at them to keep going they'd have done it in ten minutes.
It's now 2:30. In the last five hours I've cleaned three bathrooms, done about six loads of laundry (some I hang to dry, some is still going), picked up the entire upstairs, fed Elliot a few times, fed Mitchie and put him down for a nap and made egg salad sandwiches, among other things.
The kids? They've been playing, fighting, trying to sneak back upstairs, had two time outs, whined about being hungry and cleaned about half the room. Did I mention that at 11:30am I told them that I was getting lunch ready and that they needed to finish cleaning up before they could have lunch?
I kind of almost feel mean. They had their breakfast and were done that by about 9, which means they haven't had anything to eat in 5.5 hours. I'm all about following through, but my guilt is playing on me. They keep coming up and saying things like "I'm so hungry", "I don't want to clean, I just want to eat." "Can't we please eat?"
Yet, they know how to clean up that room. When Jordan feels like it she can do the entire room herself in about 15 minutes, and that's with all the twirling and singing and playing a little with most of the toys before putting them back.
She just brought me a toy to show me. This is why they're not done. I believe they're hungry, yet that doesn't seem to be motivation enough. I don't know what to do. I generally yell and threaten and stand down there and supervise while they grumble and slowly put a toy in at a time, after playing with it, after I scold them. Or I "help" them. Or I do it myself after they go to bed. I really don't think that picking up a few toys is something they can't be responsible for.
I'm thinking that I should do this every day. At 4:30 I should tell them that it's soon supper time and that they have to finish the basement before they get supper. I seriously hope that once they realize that this rule isn't going to go away that they just get at it and get it done.
What do you think?
It's now 2:30. In the last five hours I've cleaned three bathrooms, done about six loads of laundry (some I hang to dry, some is still going), picked up the entire upstairs, fed Elliot a few times, fed Mitchie and put him down for a nap and made egg salad sandwiches, among other things.
The kids? They've been playing, fighting, trying to sneak back upstairs, had two time outs, whined about being hungry and cleaned about half the room. Did I mention that at 11:30am I told them that I was getting lunch ready and that they needed to finish cleaning up before they could have lunch?
I kind of almost feel mean. They had their breakfast and were done that by about 9, which means they haven't had anything to eat in 5.5 hours. I'm all about following through, but my guilt is playing on me. They keep coming up and saying things like "I'm so hungry", "I don't want to clean, I just want to eat." "Can't we please eat?"
Yet, they know how to clean up that room. When Jordan feels like it she can do the entire room herself in about 15 minutes, and that's with all the twirling and singing and playing a little with most of the toys before putting them back.
She just brought me a toy to show me. This is why they're not done. I believe they're hungry, yet that doesn't seem to be motivation enough. I don't know what to do. I generally yell and threaten and stand down there and supervise while they grumble and slowly put a toy in at a time, after playing with it, after I scold them. Or I "help" them. Or I do it myself after they go to bed. I really don't think that picking up a few toys is something they can't be responsible for.
I'm thinking that I should do this every day. At 4:30 I should tell them that it's soon supper time and that they have to finish the basement before they get supper. I seriously hope that once they realize that this rule isn't going to go away that they just get at it and get it done.
What do you think?
Comments
From a nutrition standpoint, you're not causing any harm.
Now if I could just get myself buckled down with a schedule...
Also, I find that if Jake makes an effort each day, I don't mind doing the little things so much. Like picking up socks and the last toys of the day.
I say stick with it.
I kind of think this is nicer than threatening spanks and time outs and yelling, or just doing it myself and never teaching them anything!
I also plan on eating dinner with my husband at the regular time. They don't like that either. I've done it in the past and they actually speed up a little when they know that we're upstairs eating already!