Tidy playing area=happy children!!

[dropinthe]

I'm making a statement here but I firmly believe that children who are wallowing in toys/mess/rubbish are not happy ones!!

[suzywong]

wouldn't go so far as to say not happy, but they certainly get more out of their toys if they aren't in a mess

what has prompted this highly partisan proclamation anyway?

[elliott]

mine must be really miserable then....

[giraffeski]

Message withdrawn

[CountessDracula]

Don't know about them, but I certainly can't bear it!

[PrettyCandles]

Agree.

It's nice to let them go wild from time to time, but ultimately living in a mess is uncomfortable - emotionally and physically.

Having a tidy playing area but not being too hung-up about it is just like having a schedule for naps, food etc - but not being too hung up on it!

[CountessDracula]

Oh yes am not obsessed! I just clear up say every hour when dd is playing.

[suzywong]

every hour????

wait til you get another one then you'll be sweeping it to one end of the room at 7.30pm like the rest of us

[SoupDragon]

Oh, you'd love our playroom...

pmsl

[WideWebWitch]

Yeah right.

[WideWebWitch]

That was in reply to the original post btw.

[CountessDracula]

Don't forget I work 4 days a week and so only have to deal with it 3!

I should clarify that in her bedroom she can trash it all she likes and we tidy it before she goes to bed. It's only the living room that I tidy once an hourish (bear in mind we have open plan living/dining/kitchen)

[Jimjams]

rather simplistic?

[SoupDragon]

But once an hour???

[unicorn]

jimjams what you saying about CD/?

[SoupDragon]

Actually, I wonder if children who live in an overly tidy environment are any happier than those who live in something relatively messy. Would they not be worried about making a mess?

[Jimjams]

sorry I was doing a www- in reply to the original post.

I am in awe of anyone who can tidy once an hour. I have been trying to hoover all day and have so far managed my hall. Just realised I have 15 mins to do it as ds1's taxi will be back at 3.30.

Must dash!

[SoupDragon]

Just thinking of how stressed I feel if I visit an immaculately tidy house. I get utterly paranoid and can't relax!

[dropinthe]

Had just tidied my sons' playroom up(in fact our third spare room but so full of junk and toys that we call it a playroom!!)but also come back from a weekend with their nanny who thinks it is fine for them to be surrounded by toys and food etc etc-as soon as I tidy up the boys start playing with individual toys and actually taking an interest in them when before they bicker and act lazy!!

[CountessDracula]

oh i dunno i just plucked it out of the air!

I would say yes probably, as she generally would do for eg jigsaws for an hour then get bored of those, then do some painting or stikcing or something, then play with her kitchen - so once finished with something I would tidy it up. Does that not make sense? Otherwise my living room would be a permanant shite hole!

[CountessDracula]

I don't clean, just tidy. eg stack her drawings up, put the pens away.

God I always thought I was a slob compared to most people!

[Merlin]

For me the luxury of having a separate playroom meant I didn't have to keep tidying up, DS could do it at the end of the day - although I do try and encourage him to put one thing away before he gets out something else! Having said that the floor is usually covered with a train layout and various engines/coaches etc littered everywhere. It keeps him quiet and at the mo that is a good thing in my book at 37 weeks pregnant!!!!

[kid]

My kids rooms are tidy, well at least they are until the kids go in there!!!

[Jimjams]

good point soupy My aunt (who used to be ridiculusly tidy until having kids and now is a slob) said that she had one of her friends sccholfriends home and he came in and said "oh I love coming here, your house is such a mess your mum doesn't mind if we make more mess"

[dropinthe]

Have most definetly NOT got an immaculate house!!!

[CountessDracula]

My house isn't full of rubbish or dirty tho as I have a cleaner twice a week