Does your 3+ year old...

[GingerlyRed]

tidy up their toys etc. at the end of the day on their own?

Thanks

[verybadhairdoo]

yup, has to be asked though. We do a bit of "tidy up time" before dinner. I refuse to help. Its not my mess, I've enough to clean up!

Why do you ask OP?

[Mum2Fergus]

Hmm sometimes yes, sometimes no...I try to have him tidy up as he goes ie put all Fireman Sam stuff away before playing with Octonauts. Come bedtime I'm not so fussed, happy for him to head off to bed.

[shockedballoon]

No. He does help with jobs round the house on a daily basis (mainly putting cutlery away and hanging up/putting away his underwear/sticking stuff in the washing machine)
I'm not that firm about tidying up at bedtime. He'll half heartedly help if prompted - and tonight he did clean up the 2 jigsaws and random cars he'd been playing with, but that was because I said he couldn't have his chocolate milk lolly ice until I could see the floor in the lounge!
I probably should get a bit better at that though...

[glenthebattleostrich]

We have a tidy up song which we put on and DD loves to try to tidy things away before it finishes.

We also do 'choose it, use it then put it away' which works when the floor disappears under a sea of toys!

[vladthedisorganised]

Ha. Does DD tidy up? Yes. Does she tidy up in a way I would recognise as tidying up? No.
DD can put a train set or lego into a box if prompted heavily, but generally soft toys are a different matter. Usually they're 'not feeling well' and 'have to lie on the sofa until they feel better/ until the doctor can see them'. .
If I just ask her to 'tidy up' then things will be moved to a different location; I need to be absolutely watertight - "I need you to pick up all the different bits of the train set, including the trees, and put them into this box. Then I need you to put the bits of Lego into that red box."

[GingerlyRed]

I'm in the middle of an impotent parenting period. My dd was 3 in May and lately it seems like everything is a struggle/battle. The tidying up question is only the tip of the iceberg for me. I ask her to tidy up and she looks at me like I've sprouted another head that is speaking a foreign language, then looks at the mess, her face goes blank and she stares off into space . She understands and I am very specific. But like everything else it's like she is trying to see how far she can push things.

I think she is also a bit as her 13 mth db doesn't have to help too.

Thanks for the replies - I do feel a bit reassured that I'm not being unrealistic to expect a certain level responsibility (not the best word I know!) from her.

[JollyHappyGiant]

Just saying "tidy up" is probably not specific enough. Especially if she's not used to it. I'd say "please find all the books and put them on the table" then "the lego men need to be picked up and out in the red box" then "pick up the cuddly toys and put them in the big toy box".

[GingerlyRed]

Apologies... I was not clear. I do give her instructions in the form that you have suggested. For example, "put the blocks back in the bag." I get a damn good ignoring which gets me seething inside.

There has been a lot of trying behaviour lately (to say the least) so maybe some delayed terrible two's going on. Sometimes I do worry that I'm expecting too much or not enough from her so it's good to get a feel for where other's are at.

Thanks!

[princesscupcakemummyb]

hello yeah my daughter has been helping tidying toys since she was 3