Have I punished her too much? Or not enough? Dh says I go ott.

[Rhubarb]

But dd is just so sloppy! She leaves pens without their lids on our settee and on her bed, staining them. She and her cousin yesterday managed to get glitter all over her bed and covers. She makes things out of paper and does it on the settee, covering it in bits of paper, sellotape and glue.

I mean I know our furniture is hardly worth much and is a bit scruffy, but I do make an effort to make it presentable (I washed the throw on the settee a few days ago) and she just thinks it's fine to treat it like a huge playmat.

Today I asked her to tidy her room, twice. When I went up to put new sheets on the bed after stripping the glitter covered ones I found beads all over the mattress, pens out everywhere, and just a complete mess - I had to stand on things to get to her bed. So I've cancelled a trip to see her cousins for tomorrow, I've banned all use of pens except on a table and I made her clear it all up before she even got into bed. I also gave her a very stern lecture. But it does mean that she's gone to bed upset that plans for tomorrow are cancelled (we can go on Thurs if she's good tomorrow) and upset that I've had to tell her off just before bedtime.

dh seems to think it's all part of being a kid. But her sloppiness has also affected her schoolwork and she's been in trouble for not bothering to write her homework in her book and not pasting her spellings in the right place or dating anything.

So how can I get her out of this sloppiness?

I have become slightly less sloppy as an adult but not to a degree that my mother would approve of...

morningpaper-lol at using glitter at 26. Have just made DH a Valentine's card with DS1 art stuff. Glitter everywhere. And i'm...almost 26!

Anyway, my solution is to put it all in a 'craft box' out of reach and supervise.

Can't unsloppify eh? Bugger!

I guess everyone has different expectations of their kids, and I like to think that I am firm but fair with mine. I encourage them to be creative, they have paints and craft sets etc, but I do like tidiness. This is only a very small house so any amount of clutter does make it almost impossible to move round.

We did some rules this morning which she wrote down and pinned to the bedroom wall. They are; No felt tip pens in bedroom; No glitter or glue; Tidy it or Bin it; No Food or Drink; Dirty Clothes in the Laundry. I also put; Play and Have Fun, But When You are Done, Put it Away, For Use Another Day.
Then we agreed that Thursdays was the day when they would both clean their room.

From now on, any creative stuff is limited to the dining room table, or in the living room on the floor or coffee table.

I work 5 days a week during school hours and I don't want to spend all my free time clearing up after everyone, so for me it is essential that both children pull their weight in their own way.

After all, what's the point in having kids if they don't work for you?

Craft only ever on kitchen table. Glitter in bin as soon as I can sneak it there as I hate the stuff.

When I ask the dcs to tidy up if they don't I pick a number I am going to count up to (varies on amount of mess) and then walk around the house counting. Anything left out when I have finished goes in the bin, unless there was a reason they couldn't put it away (dd can't reach some things). Have only thrown things away twice.

I still think that if they want tehir rooms messy, they should be allowed to. It is their territory, after all!

Hey...another suggestion. I bought one of those broomstick things (basically a dustbuster with a long handle) and the kids think it's so much fun that they fight over who gets to clean with it after meals. It really is just a dustbuster with a long handle. I got the eureka one which cost me $25 here in the usa. It's handy too because rechargeable battery is removable so it doesn't have to be stored next to a socket like a normal dustbuster (ie you can keep it in the broom closet). Ds really gets into using it until the battery dies so he can put it to recharge. Result is a very clean dining room and kitchen floor. (I too am a workign mother and understand just how precious time can be).