Clutter and Kids!

As a young mom, I always said to my kids 'go clean your room'. That was a daunting task for them. Organization was not a buzz word back then. I am not sure if I said, 'go organize your shelves, that that would have inspired my kids to go in and tackle their rooms any differently. Rarely did my kids make any progress when I told them to 'go clean their room'.

With children comes chaos and clutter, but it is the wise mom who gently nudges her kids to start at a young age to take care of themselves. I am talking about 'age appropriate' behavior, but children need to see early on that work and taking care of themselves is a part of life. 'Cleaning a room' is not possible for a toddler, but taking care of their books is possible and it is necessary for them to see the importance of it. That is a baby step in the bigger picture of taking care of themselves.

When I saw housekeeping and organizing as an act of 'taking care of myself', I was able to do a better job on the daily tasks that needed attention. I think kids can relate to that more than a vague sense of 'clean'!

Here's favorite prayer from the Mother's Almanac that you might want to pray right along with your kids!

Help me to work,
Help me to play,
Help me to learn a bit each day.
Teach me to wash,
Teach me to scrub,
To hang my clothes and clean my tub;
To put my toys upon the shelf,
Help me, dear Lord, to help myself.

(Did I hear an AMEN?!)