My friend, Betty Smith Rose, author of Can I Have a Monkey? curates her time wisely for her passion of teaching small children to read.Today, Anna shares tips about how parents can change their approach to one of the most frustrating challenges a parent faces. Getting your child to clean up. With a great attitude.
Seem impossible? Glen Campbell sings To Dream the Impossible Dream in my head today.
So how do we get them to clean up? By teaching them to curate their collections so they can focus on what really matters.
We want our kids and grandkids to lives that leave us gasping with delight. That only happens when they understand priorities are people, not stuff.
A Cleaning Dynamo
“Gammy, come see what’s in my room.” The little dynamo took my hand gently to guide me. Who could resist such persuasive powers?
“Don’t you want to clean up?” Yep, her room was a gigantic mess. Trust me when I say my cleaning prowess is becoming a thing with this little one.
“Has your big brother been in here playing with fairy wings and dropping tutus all over the floor?” I asked as I began tucking hair accessories and dress up clothes back in drawers.
Just how many tutus can one child wear? Surely no more than 4. Okay, maybe 5.
Curating the Collections
Christmas is the perfect time to curate your child’s collections. For example, it’s a perfect time to teach kids to share by donating things they’ve outgrown.
In fact, the only thing I let my kids stockpile were books and craft supplies.
Fortunately, our kids are all sentimental about books. When they left home, they took their books and some of mine. If you wonder which books to keep, find Anna’s thoughts on censoring our children’s reading list here.
I can’t explain how the craft supplies still multiply here.
“I don’t know if everyone on the planet is a collector. Maybe we’re all, as human beings, designed to collect things. But everybody related to me is,” laughs Anna.
In today’s episode, I confess my bad “black bag” attitude about cleaning up. Anna ever-so-gently offers me a better way to interface with kids. Fortunately for both of us, one of my favorite joys in life is watching our kids parent better than we did!Mom’s Bad Attitude Transformed
Well, if you listen in on our conversation you’ll hear a lot more of my bad attitude about clean up. But you’ll also get more practical ways to apply Anna’s better approach. READ THE FULL ARTICLE for her few quick tips!
