14
CLEANING UP AND CHORES
Tips for Getting Your Kids to Clean Up after
ThemselvesWHILE OUR RESEARCH OVER the years has indicated that whining is the
most aggravating Stop behavior problem for parents of young
children, kids not cleaning up after themselves has consistently won
out as the most irritating Start behavior problem. Some kids leave
their stuff strewn all over the house, but amazingly they also have
enough left to mess up their entire bedroom. And other undone chores
compete with messy houses and messy rooms in the battle to drive
parents crazy.
Unfortunately for us, most kids are not naturally neat. Perhaps the
picking up and chore genes are missing from their chromosomal
makeup. Conclusion? Children need to be trained to pick up, clean
their rooms, and do chores.
How can you do that? By this time you shouldn’t have to be
reminded that you won’t get the kids to complete these unpleasant