Child Organization

Child organization is an important part of child discipline. It takes a lot of patience to teach a child how to get organized, but it will be worth it both now and especially in the long run.



They can carry their clothes and sheets from the laundry room to their bedroom. They can remember which drawer their underwear and socks go into and where to put extra blankets. They can learn to appreciate the importance of decluttering.

My daughter, by four years old, was extensively taught to give time and effort to do what’s expected of her. I expect her to do her share and clean up after herself.

I don’t mind having a temporary mess that is the result of having fun or learning. My daughter plays with play dough, chalk, glue, markers, paint, sand, mud, and creates her own experiments and I love it.

I love watching her learn and grow and enjoy herself. But, she knows it’s her job to clean it up - with some help from Mom or Dad if necessary.

Spend as much effort as needed to teach them to stay on top of messes. They should clean up after themselves and can wipe down tables after eating or doing arts and crafts.

Be creative with child discipline and ready to teach at all times. Look for new tasks that they can handle and be responsible for. And importantly, hold them accountable!

You may think it's better or easier to just clean up after them instead of taking the time to teach them... Better for who? Better for your child's life and character or better for your lack of patience?

Allowances For Chores

There are different ways to approach the subject of allowances for kids. Should we pay our children to do their share of the work around the house?

Or, should we keep the two separate; an allowance is for learning money management and the completion of chores is simply an expected responsibility of which children have no choice in the matter?

Compelled to Clean!

Teach them in a way that inspires and encourages. In other words, don't scream and nag. :) Approach child organization and your own household chores in a way that causes your child to be self-motivated and to appreciate being clean and organized.

I recall one day when my four-year-old daughter and I ran some errands. Our first stop was Walmart. We were in the clothing section when my daughter noticed someone had caused several packages of socks to spill out onto the floor.

Well, she wouldn't have that, no sir! She gasped and said, "Mommy! Look at this mess. I have to clean this up!"

Next, we went to the grocery store. While in the produce section, she noticed pieces of some type of food smeared along the floor as people had been walking on it.

She wanted to clean that, too, but I had to stop her from picking it up with her hands. Though I'm not sure that she really would have because she is rather cleanly. I told her we would allow a worker who is prepared to clean it up to handle it.

I never thought that my daughter's wanting to pick up smashed food from a grocery store floor would so warm my heart. :)

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