To not want toys brought into the lounge?

[ohnononofenton]

So in context, our downstairs area is all open plan. There’s a smallish lounge, a dining room and then an orangery. The children’s toys and games are in the orangery and their bedrooms.

They both but especially my five year old keep bringing them into the lounge. I hate it. It’s mostly because the lounge is on the small side so quickly gets full, toys get trampled on, end up under the sofa and the TV unit. I end up skidding on toy cars and parts of tool boxes all the time.

I am trying to be quite firm about keeping toys in the orangery or bedrooms. Or is this just too uptight? It’s an ongoing battle keeping the house fairly tidy and I don’t do a bad job but it is a lot of work.

No, he doesn’t. But thank you

What specifically is he being asked to do when you ask him to "tidy up" right now and when/how often are you doing it?

By that logic a conservatory cant be called that unless you're using it to grow plants in.
Because that was their original purpose.

Yes, anyone with an orangery would never have a lounge. They're only to be found in pubs and on cruise ships/ferries as my Grandmother would have it.

I wonder if he has to have a bit more guidance? With one of mine I had to hold his hand and literally do tidying up together. It was a bit wearisome, and went on for ages, but it worked in the end (although his uni room was horrific!).

book case(s) and one sofa in the orangery?

Ignore them, they're just being twats for the sake of it.

Very uptight, and you’ll bring your children to be uptight too.
There are far important things in life than worrying about toys in the lounge. You should be glad your children want to be with you. Make the most of it, because it won’t necessarily last forever (particularly if you’re uptight).

Ask the teacher what prompts and routines they use and then implement them at home. Your 5 yer old will respond and your younger child will be trained before they start school making them much less of a pain in the arse.

Tidying is a skill that can be learned but which some children find easier to pick up than others I think.

With my son (3.5y) you have to break it down and really support him to do it. So focusing on one part of the mess and doing it together. Even if that's just asking him where a particular toy goes, or to put a box of stuff that you have tidied back in its place. Or being in charge of putting the dice back in the box after a family board game.

It’s marketing speak.

I have tried. I worry about raising a boy (in particular) who thinks mummy does it all. But for whatever reason it seems to massively, hugely overwhelm him. Even something straightforward like ‘put the blocks back in the case’ - he starts getting very dramatic, insisting it will take ages, and often ends in tears, upset, drama, no matter how jovial and matter of fact you are about it. I had to conclude a while ago it just wasn’t working and I had to sort of weigh up the impact of me endlessly telling him to tidy up and leading to the upset or accepting that I needed to do it. I opted for the latter. I get it wouldn’t be everyone’s choice but for me it’s working.

Over Christmas the mess was difficult and so I had a big clear out of unused toys and games and books. The house felt a lot more manageable.

It really isn’t about poor children being kept away from the main family rooms. It’s just about having a bit of space where I’m not constantly picking things up. And it reduces the damage when things are trodden on too.

Younger child is fine, just does it, sometimes without even being prompted.

My children had a big playroom - but their toys always ended up in the lounge too. It is to be expected when you have children.

I used to put on a song and say "Lets see if we can tidy all the toys away before this song finishes" - that used to work quite well, and it was fun too!

It is an orangery if it has a proper roof as opposed to a glass or perspex one. My kitchen became one and it's no colder than anywhere else in the flat.

What consequences are you using?

We used to find toys occasionally in the toilet! DS used to like seeing what happened when flushed. He did it to DH's watch: only once though. I didn't want toys to go upstairs/into bedrooms as nothing good comes out of silence during the day where children are concerned!

Ignore the twats OP. They are just sad idiots that get a kick out of putting people down. All they are really doing is showing themselves up.

I have tried the song, the countdown timer on the Yoto player, they just don’t work for ds. For whatever reason it is something he just seems to get a bit … odd about, for want of a better word.

Not understanding why pieces of toys get lost in the lounge but not in the orangey?

There isn’t as much furniture in the orangery and it’s bigger.

So it sounds like the pressure of having to do is what he doesn't like.

Will he tidy up with you?

No

We used to call the pub the theatre. I’m now calling my conservatory the orangery. But as others have said defo get a big toy chest to chuck everything in at the end of the day. Kids should be able to play everywhere but likewise your house doesn’t need to look like a branch of ToysRus.

Google shows lots of orangeries with glass roofs.