Ryen and Madelyn have a LOT of toys. I love having a playroom for them with lots of bins and a place for everything. But still, they have been forgetting our family clean-up rules quite a bit lately. Before my mom left, she instigated a nightly toy raid- where all toys left on the floor mysteriously vanished. And so, The Grammy Grabber was born. It took the kids a while to catch on, but eventually they couldn't help but notice their toy reserve was quickly being depleted. Even so, they were STILL not cleaning up the few toys they had left. That's when the Mommy Grabber had to step in. I gave the girls almost a full hour to clean whatever they wanted to keep and they didn't clean up a single toy. So, right in front of them, I started picking up their toys and putting them in the "off-limits box." To say they had a meltdown would be a severe understatement. They were bereaved! I felt like the meanest person who ever lived, BUT... it worked. Now the girls know we mean business when we tell them it is time to clean up after themselves. And each night that The Grabber finds nothing to grab, the girls get to set free two imprisoned toys the next morning. It has been like Christmas around here... and our house has never looked better. Long live the Gram Reaper!
4 comments:
haha that is great! You guys have the greatest ideas. I wish I could have seen the mighty meltdown...on second thought maybe not. Way to not give in though....I hope I can be that strong.
So how long do you wait to give the toys back? That is always the problem I have. That sounds like a meltdown in the making at our house, too!
I think it's a lot easier to collect the toys after your kids are sleeping, but mine just weren't grasping what was really going on... so we had to show some tough love. We try to be very loving and encouraging, while still holding firm and being consistent.
Right now we have a whole closet set up like a toy store. The girls earn their toys back like allowance. When they go to bed without goofing around, do their chores, clean their room, go the extra mile without being asked, stuff like that, they earn the right to rescue an imprisoned toy. It has been working great! The girls seem to have a much greater appreciation for the things they have. They are beginning to understand the difference between rights and privileges. It's both a hard lesson to teach and a hard lesson to learn, but I really believe it has been worth it.
*As an added bonus, I have been able to see which toys my kids really don't care for and can donate those to charity without feeling guilty.
they reminds me of joyschool, we had a huge white ghost that would come around and eat up all the toys left on the floor...that things still gives me nightmares to this day!
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