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Pick up Those Toys, Please
6 Strategies to Get Your Toddler to Clean Up
By Melinda Copp
"A fun and logical way to get your toddlers to clean up after themselves is to ensure they know where everything goes," Buchalter says. She suggests creating a bin or shelf system that stores all the toys in an organized way.
Designate one bin or shelf for books, one for blocks and one for stuffed animals. Get your toddler involved in the organizational system by decorating the bins or boxes together. Toddlers are eager to help and learn new things, so a simple system that they can help maintain will get them involved in the whole cleanup process.
Although you may never have considered yourself a songwriter, putting your creative skills to work can help make cleanup time a fun, integral part of playtime.
"I made up a song that I sing when it is time to clean up," says Heather Ledeboer, a mom from Athol, Idaho. "Something about the connection of song and action seems to set their little bodies into motion when we start to sing."
Adding music or other fun elements to cleanup time not only lightens the mood, but also teaches kids that straightening up is an integral part of playing.
"That's why so many nursery school classes sing songs during cleanup, to make everyone aware that cleanup is part of what we do when we play, and that it can be somewhat fun," Dr. Donahue says. "But parents have to be clear that no other activity will begin until the toys that are out are all put away. This is where they need to hold the line."