Close Topic Options

My Child Wants To Help But He Makes A Mess!

My 4 years old son is a very helpful young child, to the point that when he says he is 'cleaning' means he is standing on my bed with the broom and trying the clean the wall or sprinkling water all over the floor. How can I encourage his good intention behaviour without him making a total mess of my home?.

Mess Makes He Help Wants Child My

My grandson always wants to help too. I usually give him a broom and send him to his room to sweep. This usually occupies him for a little while and he thinks he has helped. Also, if I have something that needs to go in the trash or the laundry, I will hand it to him and ask him to do it.

When I am cooking, I will mix whatever the batter, etc., until it is ready, then I let him stir it a few times and he believes he is helping. This makes him happy.

When I am doing yard work he has his own toy garden tools. I tell him he has to work as long as I am working. Of course, most of his work isn't all that helpful, and I let him take frequent play breaks, but I make him believe he is working right along with me. I think this teaches him the importance of working together as a family.

My Child Wants To Help But He Makes A Mess! Reviews Consumer & Travel Family Culture

Those are excellent examples Tena, I have the same problem, but mine is a little more difficult... my work is based on sensitive equipment (computers) or if I am doing things to improve the home (woodwork) then I am using dangerous tools. I have solved this in two ways... I gave him his own imaginary laptop and an old mouse I had so he thinks he is working with daddy. The other is a bit tricky, I usually have to barricade him into another section of the room and tell him to use his plastic hammer to build something with scrap pieces of wood that I cut.

Mess Makes He Help Wants Child My

Thanks for those great tips Tena. I was thinking the other day, it is better for him to make a mess that not help at all! I can just imagine when he becomes a teenager and I will have to follow him all over to do simples chores.

Mess Makes He Help Wants Child My

Another idea is to gently lead him to the thing that needs doing, and show him how first. My daughter caught on quickly that I was "tricking" her into doing something "pretend" -- she wanted to do the real thing! So I just showed her -- this is where we sweep, not on the bed and this is why... etc. Then I showed her how to measure ingredients for the the pancakes etc., and how to crack the eggs without your thumbs breaking through and so forth. Yep, we've had some major messes -- besides the minor ones like broken eggs on the floor, flour dumped in the sugar bin, etc. But she's learning *why* we do things the way we do them, and that mostly teaches the "how" of it. She's great at mopping and sweeping, taking out the trash, dusting. We even trimmed the roses today, and she managed not to get poked too seriously I bought her own *real* set of rose trimmers, small to fit her hand, and gloves with good pads on the palms and fingers. She did great.

I think part of my calm is that I'm a mom for a second time around, at an age when a lot of moms are becoming grandmas. I'm much more tolerant, and I don't sweat a mess now and then because she's learning. And, of course, I make her "help" me clean it up

Roz

My Child Wants To Help But He Makes A Mess!

That's great Roz, I always think of you as such a sweet mom. Felipe loves to help me around, he likes to bring things I ask for and he loves to sweep the floor, he is very helpful. He is a bit too young to help me with the kitchen, he is extremely mischievous and get in trouble easily

My Child Wants Help He Makes Mess!

Well today I planned to do yard work most of the day. I told my grandson last night that we would be spending the day doing yard work. He said, "yard work? When we are done can we go to the carnival again?" There is no carnival in town this weekend, but the point is he didn't say he didn't want to help me, he just wanted to know if we could do something really fun afterwards.

It is raining so we may not get any yard work done, but if we do, I have already come up with a few tasks he can do to help. It won't be as much help for me as it will be a lesson for him and he will get plenty of play breaks, but I think it is very important that he learn that when members of the family work, we all work to do our share.

My Child Wants Help He Makes Mess! Culture Family Travel & Consumer Reviews

That's great Tena. I can imagine the little one doing yard work, he must be so cute. Felipe loves to set the table when we are ready to eat. He knows perfectly where to put the forks, knives and spoon, of course I have to be extra careful and watching when he is doing it, he loves to put away the leftover foods in the fridge .