The kids' room or kids's space was, is and will be one of the most difficult places to manage (I'm sure every mother in the world agrees :P)

Building a Zero Waste Kids space, maintaining it and keeping it clean requires a lot of energy coming from the parents.

But not any more folks! With the tips below, we will show you how to reduce the amount of energy you put in keeping this place a clean and creative space for kids to learn, play and enjoy.

Please feel free to tell us your own experiences and to share with us your tips and ideas in the comment section at the bottom of the page!

Teaching your kids to clean up their room by themselves after they finished playing one game is one of the most important tasks they will learn in their life. How do you do that?
 

1. Make sure you make it sound like cleaning is fun, not a chore.

TIPS: After playing with them, play the "Clean up song" of your choice. Then use a timer (verbally is ok) to see who cleans up the fastest. Or who cleans the most toys in 10 seconds. At the end, put on them a hat called "Champion of the day" or a badge, or points on their "Well-behaved" note-book.

2. Make sure they know which toys go where before they clean it up, so they don't just throw everything randomly in a box. Reuse a few cardboard boxes to categorize toys, by type, color or size etc.

3. If they don't want to do it anyway, first explain that it is important to clean up the toys so they don't break or get lost. (Don't just say "because I say so"). If the child insists in not doing it, punishing is a good idea. Use as punishment something he cannot control, something only YOU can do for him, like you won't give any sweets for dinner, won't drive him to practice on Sunday etc. Don't use blackmail. and deffinitely don't get mad. Just say "I'm sorry, buddy, but a deal works like this: you do something for me, I do something for you. So is it a deal?"