Alright, Colorado parents! We have a fun challenge for the kiddos this month! We all know most kids would rather do anything but clean their room (and if your kid is the exception, give yourself a high-five and skip the next page!). But here’s the scoop: keeping a tidy room can lead to tidiness in other parts of life too, like lockers, desks at school, and even future workplaces. 

Now, if your kiddo’s room is more tornado than tidy, or their cleaning efforts seem to create more of a mess, it’s time to get them into a routine. And what better time to start than back-to-school season? 

Pick a Time: Morning or Night
Whether your family is full of early birds or night owls, finding a schedule that fits is key. It’s way easier to do a quick tidy-up every day than to face a three-hour cleaning marathon on the weekend. So, challenge your kids to put away toys, clothes, homework, and whatever else is cluttering their room, either right when they wake up or before hitting the hay. 

Bite-Sized Chores
Just like adults, kids can get overwhelmed by big tasks. Cleaning their room might seem like climbing Mount Everest to them. By breaking up the task into smaller, bite-sized chores, it can help them turn that marathon into a series of short sprints. 

• Toss dirty clothes in the laundry bin. 
• Pick up toys and put them away (organization bins can make this easier). 
• Collect all the dishes and put them in the sink. 
• Throw away all the trash. 

The Complaining Stage
Brace yourselves, parents! It’s inevitable that there will be grunts, complaints, and maybe even a tantrum when your kiddos hear the words “clean your room.” Here are some ways to handle the “I don’t wanna” stage. 

• Explain why it’s important to have a clean room. 
• Offer words of encouragement. 
• Reward them at the end of the week or the month. Rewards don’t have to be more toys because they most likely have too many, but it could be money (the amount of their age) or a playdate with a friend. 

Spread the Joy
While getting your kiddo into a cleaning routine, it’s a perfect time to talk about donating toys and clothes they’ve outgrown. Explain how their donations can help other kiddos who might not have a lot of toys. Plus, fewer toys mean fewer chances of stepping on those pesky Lego blocks. 

So, parents, let’s make tidying up a fun and rewarding adventure for our kiddos. Happy cleaning!