How can I get my 10 year old to keep her room clean?

Answer 1

I have seen this on desperate housewives- if she is afraid of mice/rats/etc- let one loose in her room. Tell her its in there because its a mess. Obviously get it from the pet store so its not all nasty- and make sure you capture it once she sees it.

-EA

Answer 2

Try a system where she requires points for various privileges(like going online, watching TV, etc.) Points are earned via putting in her fair share and/or being responsible(doing chores, getting homework done, and so forth). For the keeping her room clean part, make sure at least some of the room checks are unannounced. Three things to consider: don't gripe if she doesn't go along at first. The natural consequence of not putting in her fair share here is that she will run out of points(and therefore cannot do anything fun as a result). Secondly, don't get upset if she whines or complains. She doesn't have to like it; she just has to do it. And thirdly, keep your expectations reasonable. Clean doesn't have to mean immaculate. As long as she can navigate her room without having to search, jump over things, or dig around, you're in good shape.

Answer 3

When I got tired of yelling about it, I used it do the cleaning myself. I would bag up everything that was piled on the floor (well, not the clothes, because that would have cost me in the long run) and bagged it in big black garbage sacks. Then I would store the bags for an indefinite period of time, let's say, until they could prove they could keep the room somewhat clean for a month. Then I would give back 1 bag at a time.
If it got messy again, I would start the same process all over.

When my son finally moved out, he was so proud that the carpet in his bedroom looked like new, even though it was at least 10 years old. My reply: It looks new because no one ever walked on it, they walked on $15,000 worth of toys, computer games, and clothes. I think he finally "got it".

Answer 4

1) Establish a schedule!
2) Make sure that things are organized in labeled storage boxes or whatever so they can easily organize and put away their things
3) Set up consequences for what will happen if they don't clean their room
4) Praise and reward them for cleaning. Whether that be a friend staying the night or watching tv for longer than they should....

And you might want to give them cleaning tips such as to pick up things in sections such as: throw away trash first, then put dirty clothes away, and then put the toys away... By giving them piece by piece, it makes one huge chore seem like a small thing.

Or, you can do what my grandpa used to do and throw all of the toys away that was left on the ground. Sure you are wasting you money, but they will realize that they miss their toys and that they should have cleaned them up as asked.

Answer 5

Beat her. Just kidding, maybe you should spend some time with her instead of chatting on the web, and asking questions from complete strangers on how to raise YOUR kid. It sounds to me that your priorities are a little backwards. In a few years, if you keep up the behavior of not taking the time to talk to your kiddo and figure out how to get her to obey, you will have a lot bigger problems than just getting her to clean her room.

Answer 6

My mom use to have "The Box" now if we didn't pick up our room after she old us too. She would put everything that we didn't clean up into "The Box" and we would have to do a chore or pay 50 cents to get something out. It worked. What my mom would also do is if I "thought" I picked up everything she would make a pile of all the things she thought needed to be picked up to have my room clean. That made it easier.

Answer 7

You have to ask yourself , do I clean the house everyday? If you dont then you are setting the example that its okay to not clean everyday, and then you cannot punish for that. I dont clean my house everyday(the entire house). So you have to expect that your kids will follow you. What i do is, every other day, we all clean. We turn TV's off, radio's on, and clean up the house. Each child cleans thier own room and i clean the living and dining areas. We all sing and dance to the music as we are cleaning. You have to make it fun, otherwise she will think its just another chore, and we all know kids dont like chores, but if you make it fun, they will LOVE it! GOOD LUCK

Answer 8

Allow natural consequences to do the work. The child cannot go out or have other sover unless they show respect for their space. A clean room is showing repsect. A messy room is not.

Keep the door closed if the child wants to keep the room messy.

Answer 9

Start now with this, Nothing for her, no tv., games, phone, computor time, what ever she does out side of her room she does not get to do til that room is clean and the rest of her chorce are done. Write down as a guide line so no one will forget and tag to frig and her door. Start NOW

Answer 10

My daughter and I went round and round about that all the while she was growing up and while she lived with me. I think she was the messiest child ever (kidding). I even bought a house with an upstairs when she was a teenager so I wouldn't have to see the mess. Now she is 26 and the mother of 2 and she keeps her house very neat and clean. She is almost retentive about it. Who would have thought?

Answer 11

I have the same problem. my 10 year old thinks i am a neat freak (i am not) i used to clean it for her then i let it go, i let it get real sloppy, she couldn't find anything and finally she gave in a straightened it up. she realized she had to make some attempts to put things away. it is not perfect but i have eased up on expecting it to be and she gets aggravated some times and will clean it.