Tripping Over Toys
If you find yourself tripping over toys every time you enter your child's room, it may be time to crack down on clutter. Especially in a smaller or shared room, it can be a huge challenge to keep the room orderly if there is just too much stuff in there. Even though your child might be the cause of the mess, you might be surprised by how joyfully many kids react to an orderly environment, especially when you allow them to help develop a system of organization.
A chaotic bedroom is as disorienting for a child as it is for an adult.
Remember, in your child's room and everywhere else in the house, clutter resists clean and invites conflict. You may find that the sheer volume of clothing, books, and toys in the room creates tension between you and your children. Even if you want to teach them responsibility and make them clean their rooms on their own, they may feel as overwhelmed as you do at the thought of trying to bring order out of the chaos. Children, like adults, probably react to too many items packed in too small a space as if the battle is lost before it has even begun.
After you and your child have sorted his possessions, reward him by taking him to a store that sells organizational tools and allow him to help you select a few containers. Kids really enjoy putting small items into attractive containers — especially containers that they were able to select. Clear containers will help them to quickly identify what is inside.
Although your child's room can feel overwhelming, the challenge of bringing order to it is also an opportunity. Your child is watching you, trying to determine how to make sense of his environment and how to live well in the space he's been given. Children have little organization practice, and even less knowledge of how to choose what to keep and what to let go of. As an adult who is slowly learning the joy of clutter-free living, you can convey to your child how much better you feel in an uncluttered space, and he might just catch on to the idea.
