Being a parent is a full time job as it is, without constantly having to pick up toys and other items behind your children. Stop doing the back breaking job yourself and teach your little ones to pick up after themselves by following these simple steps. You do have to do these more than once so that your child doesn’t forget but it will set in and be worth it in the long run.

Let your child know that there is a place for everything and everything has a place. It is an old saying but also a very true one. Having a place for their toys and other things in their room will help tremendously with a child’s organisation and encourage them to be tidy later in life.

Stick to your guns when you tell your child to do something. If you tell them to clean their room and they say they’re busy playing or watching TV make them stop the activity and get the job done. Persist until they stop what they’re doing and tidy up.

It’s easier to tidy as you go. Make sure they put their dirty clothes in the wash basket at the end of each day, rather than leaving them on their bedroom floor all week. When they want to get a new toy out of the toy cupboard, make sure they put the last toy away first.

Make cleaning a part of everyday life. Don’t make your child make his bed one day then let him skip the next. Don’t take his plate to the sink one night then make him do it the next night. In other words be consistent. If you making cleaning a routine thing for them it will become second nature and they will do it without thinking about it pretty soon.

The biggest thing to do when teaching your children to clean up is to praise them for it. A reward is always a good way to encourage them to clean. Make it known, however, that the reward or allowance is not something you have to do. They are expected to clean up after themselves regardless and to do it on a daily basis. However, giving them a small allowance or an ice cream treat on Friday after a week of cleaning the way they should will go a long way towards getting them to do it for you again. Taking away a treat or the allowance is also a firm but loving way to show them that you mean business and being slack will not be tolerated.