Teaching toddler to pick up after herself?

Question

My daughter is a very busy 22-month-old and it seems like our house is covered in toys from the moment she wakes up 'til she goes to bed at night. I have been trying to teach her to pick up after herself, but it's been difficult. Sometimes she'll copy me and help put things away, but most of the time she thinks it's a game and pulls out three new toys for every one I put up!

I have another baby due in June and desperately want some order in this house before he arrives. Any tips/advice from moms and dads who've been there? And also, as far as her age goes, am I expecting too much too soon? Or is this the right time to get her to understand what it means to help mommy pick up toys? Thanks so much!

Another thing I forgot to mention..... even if I do manage to get the toys in order, as soon as I turn my back, she will tear everything off the shelves again in a matter of minutes so that it looks as if no cleaning has been done at all.

Therefore, I would also like to know how to teach her to put something away before getting out something new. I'm hoping she's at the right age for all of this, but I just don't know... she is my first.

Answer 1

She is too young to pick up her toys by herself, but not too young to learn to. What works for me is to limit the amount of toys my daughter has access to(she is also 22 months). I just throw a bunch of them in one of those Ziploc big bags and put them away for a couple weeks- then when I get them back out she gets so excited to play with them again.
I found that sometimes she just throws the toys around the house because she is just tired of playing with them. Also try just having a big basket for her to toss the toys into. They may not be in the right spot, but at least they are off the floor and she is learning how to clean them up.

Answer 2

I know exactly what you are talking about. It is a good idea to just keep a limited number of toys in her reach for the time being. Once she gets used to the idea of picking them up and only getting a few out you can introduce more. As much as I can't stand Barney I do find myself singing the "Clean up, clean up..." song quite a bit and that seems to motivate my 2 year old to start putting things away. I use different baskets and plastic bins for toys so that he can just toss them in there. Shelves are a challenge! It is hard to relax in a sea of messy toys and hard work, harder I'm sure when you are pregnant. Congrats on your new baby and get singing!!

Answer 3

I don';t think your expectations are too high. Your daughter is almost two years old adn is big enough to learn some responsibility for her things. BUt do realize that she is only two. Your expectations can only go so far. Is it possible that she has too many toys available to her at a time. I have seen that in my classrooms that there is just too much available at once. Once I remove some things it is easier to maintain order. Like they say make it a game to clean up and reward her when with praise when she cleans up. Also realise that maybe the mess is too much for her so get her to help you do the job. share the responsibility. Good Luck.

Answer 4

Exactly, she needs to learn how to put toys away before getting new ones out. You can teach her this by sitting down with her and showing her how.

Sit down and play with a few of her toys with her. When she gets tired of the toys she's gotten out, say "Okay, let's put these blocks away and get something else." Help her clean up and praise her for putting toys away. After the room is clean, say "Great job! The room is so clean now! What should we play next?"

After a few times of doing this she should get the hang of it. And if you see that she has too many toys out, remind her by saying "Too many toys..let's clean up a bit alright?"

Answer 5

My son is 2 and is just now learning to pick up his toys. During the day I don't worry about it. I have made a little routine, he and I put his little sister to bed, then clean up while singing songs, after everything is picked up we snuggle on the sofa and read books. Also, I have given up on putting all the pieces of a toy together, we just put it all in large basket, it's so much easier for him to just toss a toy into a basket than to have to organize things on a shelf. It drives me nuts, but at least the toys aren't all over the floor and I'm not tripping over them.

Answer 6

She is too little to be expected to continuously pick up after herself; you have to start small. When mine were about one I would put them for a "rest time" in their crib in the evening while I made dinner, wtih a basket/container of toys and books. when I would go back to get them, I would, at the beginning, teach them to put the toys and books back in the basket. I would even physically hold the toy in their hand and show them how to do it. When I knew they "got it", I would tell them to put the toys away, and I would NEVER take them out of the crib till it was done, even if I had to shrug, walk away, and leave them crying for 3 mintues, then come back and try again. My point is, start small. Pick one thing, like maybe books, and before nap and bed she needs to clean up all books, everywhere. then you can expand it as she grows more capable. Good luck!

Answer 7

Make a game out of pickup time with her. Help her pickup the toys and praise her when she helps. Always have a positive attitude and tell her how big of a girl she is. It definately worked with my little girl. There will always be toys to be picked up though. A perfect house is out of the question. You have to work with children at that age and don't forget patience.

Answer 8

You need to keep the toys out of her reach and let her play with one thing at a time. Once she starts asking for something else you make her clean up what she has just finished with before giving her something else. She will then learn to clean up one thing before moving on to the next. You also need to be firm and refuse to give in to her unless she does what your asking of her. She will learn by you sticking to your guns. If you sometimes let her get away with just half way picking things up then she will think she can do it whenever she wants and you end up with an out of control child who runs you not the other way around.

Answer 9

You need to find a different storage system to put toys up in where she can not reach all of them at the same time. Sounds like the lucky gal has got alot of toys ! Get her a play pen to play with the toys inside of there and they can stay stored in there also...

Answer 10

Believe it or not the barney song "clean up" works pretty well, we had my brother doin it to that song, and let her think it is a game, but not they way she is playing it, make it a race, like ready set go! hurry up! come time is almost up we gotta get it all away before the time is up! kids love that, really they do, let her win so she'll have more fun doing it.