difficult child is arguing about everything these days. His typical response to everything is an angry no followed by a tantrum if you push him.
Picking up his toys is one of those areas. He just refuses to do it. For days, legos were scattered all over the family room and kitchen. Walking in your barefeet was like crossing a minefield. Everytime I pushed him to clean up he would argue that he was working on something. Now he has a playroom on the lower level and he could leave his legos out all the time but he likes to be on the main floor. Sending him to his room for refusing to clean up usually netted a promise that he will do it followed by a half hearted attempted then quitting. Trying to make a game out of it, like let's see who can fill our bucket with legos the fastest, didn't help either. Telling him no tv until the room was clean just meant that he didn't watch tv. I offered to play Wii with him when he finished cleaning up the floor, his solution was to push everything to the sides. He did not understand why I was unhappy with this. So after the third day when he went to bed, I cleaned up alll the legos and took them downstairs to the playroom and banished them form the main level.
Now he's building with k'nex and other toys and things are a becoming a mess again. I am trying to get him to clean up as he goes. He won't. He is currently in his room, which has nothing in it for him to play with, until he is willing to clean up.
The question... Do I give him another chance to clean up or just take these things away. If I do this then there will be nothing left upstairs for him to play with and he will have the option of playing in the playroom or not at all.
He just announced that he is going to clean up. I set the timer for fifteen minutes and told him if he wasn't finished then he was going back to his room for the rest of the day.
I know, this sounds like small potatoes compared to the bigger issues we are struggling with but I was looking for some expert opinions.
Thanks!
Christy
Picking up his toys is one of those areas. He just refuses to do it. For days, legos were scattered all over the family room and kitchen. Walking in your barefeet was like crossing a minefield. Everytime I pushed him to clean up he would argue that he was working on something. Now he has a playroom on the lower level and he could leave his legos out all the time but he likes to be on the main floor. Sending him to his room for refusing to clean up usually netted a promise that he will do it followed by a half hearted attempted then quitting. Trying to make a game out of it, like let's see who can fill our bucket with legos the fastest, didn't help either. Telling him no tv until the room was clean just meant that he didn't watch tv. I offered to play Wii with him when he finished cleaning up the floor, his solution was to push everything to the sides. He did not understand why I was unhappy with this. So after the third day when he went to bed, I cleaned up alll the legos and took them downstairs to the playroom and banished them form the main level.
Now he's building with k'nex and other toys and things are a becoming a mess again. I am trying to get him to clean up as he goes. He won't. He is currently in his room, which has nothing in it for him to play with, until he is willing to clean up.
The question... Do I give him another chance to clean up or just take these things away. If I do this then there will be nothing left upstairs for him to play with and he will have the option of playing in the playroom or not at all.
He just announced that he is going to clean up. I set the timer for fifteen minutes and told him if he wasn't finished then he was going back to his room for the rest of the day.
I know, this sounds like small potatoes compared to the bigger issues we are struggling with but I was looking for some expert opinions.
Thanks!
Christy