How do you get an 8 year old to clean their room?

Question

I have tried everything now I am just plan exhausted. I don't expect her to be perfect nor do it all herself just some of it. SHE IS ONLY 8 so I don't expect much.

Answer 1

First, I would make sure everything is organized and has a place to go for her. Have her assist with the organization process, if possible. Label everything, so that she will be able to tell at a glance where things should go. After everything is organized, I would make it a routine that she picks up/cleans her room at the same time every day. Make her a check list of things that she needs to make sure are done everyday in her room. You might have to remind her at first, to clean up her room, but after awhile she will probably do it on her own.

Answer 2

I give my kids a time limit. They have 1 hour to get their rooms cleaned or mommy is coming with the trash bag. If 1 hour has passed and their rooms are not cleaned or at least a considerable portion, I take everything that is not in it's right place and it gets tossed. Your favorite shirt - don't care....that CD they just bought with their own money - too bad! The only exception I make is if it is something I know is very special, like a birthday gift from Grandma or their bear they have had since birth, I won't toss it, but it will get taken away until they show they can take care of their stuff.
I always had trouble with that, but since I started the trash bag rule, it's AMAZING how fast their rooms get cleaned!

Answer 3

room cleaning is a very overwhelming job. With my daughter, she is 7 and I still help her organize. To get her to pick up I tell her, 2 hours and I come in with a garbage bag. And she goes at it.. and if anything is left, I put it in the bag for charity or garbage.. some she may earn back with chores. If she can't be responsible with it, then she is to young to have it I believe... kids these days have so much stuff and many have very little responsibility. However when it comes to organizing and having a system to find everything... I am stilll helping and teaching her... how to organize and clean insdie the drawers and closer and dresser and such so she can find what she wants...

Answer 4

Help her make it easy to clean. My 5 year old will clean his room because we have made it easy for him to clean. He knows where his stuff goes because we let him help us organize it. He picked where things go that way he can reach them and just plain old knows where to put them. If he has a day that he doesn't want to clean and it is a huge mess, I just let him know that if I go in there to clean it that it will all end up in the trash. Yes, I have actually thrown away some of his toys. If he doesn't take care of his toys then why does he need them? If she has too much stuff then get rid of it by having a yard sale or ebay or give it to a charity that gives toys to needy families.

Answer 5

At 8, you should expect more then you think. I tell my 8 year old that if her room is not clean, she can't play with her friends until it's done. You may want to take away a different privilige depending on what your child likes to do. (No TV, No computer until room is clean)

Answer 6

Some say 8 years old is to young but at the age of 5 my son had to keep his room clean if he took it out of a place it went back. This sounds terrible but it worked for me, I told him if he left things out and they were in the way and could get walked on then they would. If they got walked on and broken they did not get replaced. It is hard but he saw his favorite toy truck trip mom and I fell down and it went in the trash and never came out and I was mad, he cried and it hurt me to tell him he had to keep his toys in there places when he was done or thats what happened to them, he eventually used his allowance money to buy a new one, after he cried to me and told how sorry he was and glad that mommy didn't get hurt that he would keep his toys in the right spots. I had showed him from a young age where they went and after that incident they went there He had some problems with the clothes, I had to fold them but he would put them in his dresser at the age of 7 but I still had to help hand thngs until he was 10 and to help change his bed until he was 10 he is now 14 and does it all on his own with no complaints. He has his xbox's, xbox 360 and playstations etc. I tell him if he slams the controllers or gets out of comntrol and yells at them and cannot realize he needs to take a 5 min. break, then I bought them I can break them. He doesn't even want to test me on those games!

Answer 7

I was possibly the most difficult person to get to clean their room but my mom bought me some good orginizational containers and things that actually make me want to clean my room. Try getting your daughter some containers (hampers, toy boxes, etc.) that match the decor of her room. Include her in picking out these things and show her how to keep her room clean. I can almost guarantee this will work! =]

Answer 8

Start by helping them & maybe makeing a game out of it. Thats what I do & it works then half way through I'm able to leave the room till my child is done. When they are finished they are so proud of themsleves they can't wait to show you.

Answer 9

Yeah! I was trained to clean my room sice small, cos my room is always neat and my mother threatened to take away the PS1 from my room when I was 6-8.... adn along that I learnt to keep my room tidy and organized, so its easier

Answer 10

Lay down the law, use a carrot and stick approach, make them realize the necessity of their work now or they will rely on you like a crutch.