At what age do you give up tidying the kids rooms?

[sorrento56]

I am just fed up of them looking a mess, spending hours tidying up and finding missing clothes and toys, and then for them to be a mess in no time. The kids complain they can't find stuff yet they won't put them away in the right places. I am fed up of washing clean clothes to as they find it easier to put them in thew washing basket rather than away.

I don't remember my parents ever tidying my room, so I guess they stopped when I was three or four.

I got 50p and a gold star for doing it on a Saturday morning. I doubt I would ever have done it without incentives!

(I still can't find stuff after I tidy though...)

So your advice would be not to do it?

I never have - i make a raing game out of dd and ds doing theres, dd is a bit lazy about it and does it begrudging but ds who is 3 is an excellent tidy uperer and gets uber proud to show me his room after he has tidied it and likes it when you can actually see his carpet!

My youngest will do his, but my others won't.

I have to go in as they can't strip and make their beds fully.

I showed my dcs pictures of beg bugs and dust mites and the awful things they do to you in the night if you don't keep the room tidy- and rats.
It workes to a degree.

My son would love that .

My daughter (4y), must tidy up her bedroom every night before she goes to sleep. (clean her toys, if clothes she just put it in her wardrobe and I make it look nice later). I let her clean her bedroom since she was around 3y, I used to help her in beginning.
Which I think is better let them clean bedroom now when they small and it will be automatic and easier when they older.

I know its their room, but I kind of take the line that as it is in my house, it has to be of the same level of tidiness of the rest of the house.

I am prepare to do low level tidying and pick the odd thing up. However, if they have just left stuff lying instead of putting it away (eg pyjamas in the middle of the floor) then they come and pick it up. If its a real mess, they get a generous amount of time to tidy up and anything not tidied up within the allotted time (which I count down) goes in the bin (bar exceptionally cherished things). I never throw stuff out now - once was enough!

My dad used to only get really annoyed if there was food left in our rooms. He would roll his eyes at the pile of toys scattered everywhere, but remenisce (sp?) about how he could get from one side of his room to the other without touching the floor, so couldn't really complain. (He's now an utter neat freak, by the way!)

My mum is still nagging me to tidy up and I've not lived with her for more than six years now. She nagged and grounded my sister and I constantly when we were growing up (and even used to rearrange the furniture at will), and as a consequence I never felt as though I had my own bedroom at all. It was utterly miserable, and not something I wish to repeat with my DCs. I'll take my Dad's stance - as lnog as there's no food going off somewhere, it's your own lookout. I'll pick out dirty lundry until they're old enough to reasonably do it htemselves (that will depend on they're development, my oldest is still 2) but I will not go down the bedroom wars route.

Mind you, I seem to spend the entire day picking up DS's toys from the living room floor. I can't wait until he's old enough to play in his room by himself on that front!

Our 4 yo DS has to tidy his room before bed each night - toys in toy box, dirty clothing in hamper, clean clothing in drawers.

I will admit to a casual mention to our DD when she was a teenager that piled up stuff in her room would attract spiders. She made sure her room was quite clean.

Spiders wouldn't bother DD (10) - I have to ask her to put them out for me as she loves them!

I don't tidy her bedroom now but do expect her to do it if she expects me to go in there at all. She strips her bed herself but I make it up for her, and I put her clean clothes away. So I need to be able to get to her wardrobe, chest of drawers and bed. I also say she needs a clear path out of her room in case there is a fire at night. The kids are not allowed to eat upstairs so there isn't likely to be anything really foul developing in a corner. Problem is when she then loses stuff that isn't hers like library books and we have to turn her room upside down to find them, which really irritates me. Maybe I should just make her pay the library for them herself.

DS is not as messy and does a reasonable job of tidying his room on a Saturday morning for his pocket money. He's 6 and I started off by writing him a list once he could read a bit so he could remember what to do. Simple stuff like "washing in wash box, books on shelf" etc. Having got used to DD and her messiness, it was a surprise that a 6 year old could manage it so well.

Hi, I have lots of different coloured trugs (flexible plastic buckets) and I find that children like to help to tidy as they like the bright colours. You can colour co-ordinate with their bedrooms too! I found a fantastic website: www.rainbowtrugs.com :)

My Ds 9 never makes a mess. It is wonderful.

DD2 was hideous, try on six outfits, and throw them on the floor.

when she did tidy up, you would open the cupboards and find she had kicked the mess into them.

My answer to your question, when they have left home