The boys have a toy room.
I know when the toy room has reached maximum messiness capacity because toys start making their way out into the hallway. Big toys. And I know that Andrew hasn't just suddenly found a desire to play with the blocks on my bedroom floor. It's just that the toy room has no more floor to use up.
I try gentle hints. I make them move the toys back to the toy room, telling them that they need to clean up if they can't play in there. I remind them that, eventually, someone is going to have to vacuum in there. And the boys shrug their shoulders and put it off.
So every few weeks I tell the boys that today is the day! They still push back. "After Lunch!" or "After Nap!" And it isn't until I get mean "No Snack until the room is clean!" that they finally head off for the room.
But even then there isn't a whole lot of work getting done. Remember, there are three of them. And they all know that, if they plan very carefully, they might not have to work that hard. Nick used to spend the entire time yelling "Nate! Pick Up! Mom! Nate's Not Picking Up!" As though he might accidentally do more work than Nate, and then Nate would get a prize.
Nick doesn't usually do that anymore. But there is a universal dodging of certain items. A boy will scoot down to pick something up and then hesitate, as if choosing the toy to pick up were like choosing the holy grail. Which one? Which one? The lego? No, the tiny car. No, the Mr. Potato Head Nose!
In fact, the only way anything actually gets picked up is if I'm standing there yelling "Pick it up! Pick it up! Lego! Lego! Now put it away! In the box In the box!" If I stop yelling, even for a few seconds, all movement stops. The boys forget what they are doing and just stand there, staring around at the floor.
Andy doesn't do much of anything during all this. He picks something up and starts to play with it. He wants everything to go on his bed.
It would be easier to do this all myself. Or to get rid of all the toys. I just don't know which one is more reasonable.
3 comments:
Do you think this is a guy thing? I'm still yelling at my retired hubby to pick things up!!!
If you get rid of all the toys, wouldn't that essentially be the same as you "doing it all yourself?" Personally, I think that removing all the toys magically overnight (like an Anti-Claus) would be a good thing to try. Don't tell them you or steve are responsible. Act just as surprised as they are.
I totally hear you and agree that the too-much-toy situation is something that needs to be addressed. However, there is a caveat to doing it the wrong way, and I'll leave you with this youtube clip to explain myself....it really speaks for itself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YersIyzsOpc
Post a Comment