At what age should children start tidying up on their own??

Question

I am curious to know at what age children should start tidying up by themselves and how parents can encourage them to do so.
Is there a set age which is recommended? Are there any informative websites anyone can recommend?

Answer 1

I would say around 2 or 3. When I want my son to help me clean I start singing the clean up song,

Clean up, clean up everybody everywhere, clean up, clean up everybody do their share.

It works all the time.

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

I'd start by having the child help put away his own socks and underwear, help make the bed and by helping Mom clean his/her room at the age of 3. Preschool children love to learn sorting and sorting 'big toys from little toys' is a good place to start. Counting games can begin when they are a bit older. "How many toys did you put in your toy chest or how many socks did you put in the drawer are good for counting and cleaning. Some children are more naturally organized and tidy others will find cleaning of any sort a big bore. But the earlier they learn the easier it will be...sometimes...

Answer 4

My daughter is 21 months and loves to help with 'tidy up time', she will go around the whole room putting her toys back, and has done this for a couple of months now.
They are never too young to learn about tidying away, and when they have the co-ordination to 'put the crayon in the box' they can help tidy away. It grows from there...until they realise they have power to say 'no'...but let's not focus on that!

Answer 5

Boy, do I wish there was a magic number and way to get this done!!! Great question. I think it can depend on the child. My 2 year old is USUALLY pretty good about picking up when I tell him to. We try to only let him have one thing out in the living room at a time, whether it's all his train and track or all his cars. He has more stuff out in his room. As long as it's not too overwhelming for him to do by himself, he doesn't usually give me too much trouble. I'll ask him to pick up all the train tracks while I pick up the trains. On the other hand, our 7 year old's room is always a mess!!!!! Go figure. I think we started too late with that one. One of those things you learn with the second. I'm as anxious as you to see some of the answers you get for this question!!!

Answer 6

I think it might be easier if you encourage the child to clean by pretending it's play. "Can you help me put away your toys? How fast can we put it away? All clean!" That sort of thing.

Children tend to respond better when they are playing or helping mommy or daddy. Being Mommy's or Daddy's helper is very important, you know. It's a big job and somene's gotta do it.

I'd say that age 2-3 would be a good place to start to consciously start children to clean. Any younger and you're likely to have the child dump out the container to do it again. ;-D

Answer 7

At 4 and 5 my kids knew that clean up time was important. We would sing the clean up song while they picked up their toys. They knew to take their plate to the sink when they were done eating. Now my older kids are 10 and 11 and they have regular chores. They get paid 1 dollar per day if they complete all the chores on their list. The chores are always the same. It makes my house flow much smoother to have everyone helping out. Their chores are : clean their room, take out trash, do dinner dishes and clean the living room. They can also do extra chores if they are trying to save money for something. Between the the time they were little and now we tried the chore chart with stickers, but that didn't seem to motivate them very much. Now they know what's expected and I usually don't even have to remind them to do it.

Answer 8

We expect our 3 1/2 year old to tidy up after himself, he even puts his own dishes in the dishwasher. We usually have do a more thourough cleaning and tidying once a week, but he's learning.

Answer 9

We started our kids as early as 10 months. My daugher was walking at 6.5 months of age, and my son at 10 months. By two years both our children knew the rules in the house. They were to pick up there toys every night,ect.

My son is 4, and my daughter is now 7. They do daily chores. My son will fold his clothes, or sweep the kitchen. My daughter knowes how to do her own laundry, and often does the dishes or vacuums the carpets.

We add on more as they age and mature. You know what your kids are capable of so make use of it. After all it will only benefit you to have your children learn to be independant.

Answer 10

they should be able to pick up toys and put them back in the toybox by age 2, but you will have to remind them. By 5 they can and should do things like take their dishes to the kitchen, pick up their clothes & put them in the hamper, straighten up their beds, put away clean clothes, and many more simple tasks. The star chart may work for them, getting a star everytime they do known chores without being told, and when they get 10 stars, take them to the dollar store, or let them do something special. Rewarding desired behavior works way better than punishing forgetfulness.

Answer 11

Actually the learning starts at a very early age....when the child is beginning to try to walk around....reach into the toy box and pull toys out, show them how to pick them up and put them back after playing with them. It is really not cleaning up and many times they will just pull them right back out....but over time and as they grow it will nothing out of the ordinary when you say....lets clean up the toys and you show them. It is best to make it consistant as with everything in raising children.