General Chat

omg wendy..has he finished cleaning now? lol

lmao tina that is so funny

I have just flipped...so this is fresh.. 3 children - 20, 15, 14 - all the clothes lying on the floors in their bedroom have been put in a big heap in their bathroom. I haven't informed them that this is where they are going to stay...it only needs to pe put in the washing basket. Their rooms, well! I have taken the fuses out of the x box and the ps2...they will come whining! Tina x

lmao chris they are fantastic...will be inculding those in the examples deffinatly lol

Nothing works!! My son (18) bedroom is a tip, you can barely walk in. I have tried. 'For goodness sake tidy your room!' 'There room in the dishwasher at the moment if you want to put all the mugs in!' (stacks in his room some gathering blue mould) Could you try to remember to......(whatever). we are 'getting fed up with always having to do it. Could you......(whatever) because I'm feeling really old and tired?'. It would be nice if you could find time to empty the car of your old Mc Donald containers. I am sick and tired of asking/telling you to..... See! nothing works. He still doesn't do anything! Please tell me the answer! Chris

well... hmmm.. dont think this worked.. because my son knew it wouldnt be true but........ he wouldnt tidying up his bedroom or put his clothes in the wash.. & after the 4th weekend of asking, I said.. 'if you dont clear it up, there wont be any Christmas for you' not a very realistic threat.. lol

When mine were little i would say pick your things up please only had to ask twice then three black bags would come out of the drawer and the place was so tidy i only had to hover up, wish it stilll worked with 31 year old she says her room is not a mess she knows where everything is Valxxx

that is lovely carol..your kids are luckier than some i can tell you

Webster, I always try to address the dee rarther than the child as I dont like the negativity, IE I would say ' what has happened is something I am really upset about, I love you but not what you have done ' Does that sound crass lol!!! Caz xxxxxxxxx

i am looking at different types of 'commands' for example (i need to find 50 different ones for work lol) 'Lets commands' ....lets tidy up the toys...when you have no intention of helping at all and what you really mean is tidy up your toys 'question commands'....would you like to put your clothes away?.......obviosly you dont want answer no lol 'vague commands'....... i see you have left your bike in the garden.....when what you really mean is put your bike in the shed please 'negative commands' ....like dont get that on the carpet... stop shouting....dont run and critical commands'.........will you put your shoes away, you always leave them on the floor....or..... stop eating like that you are behaving like a pig has anyone got any specific phrases they would like to share ta Web

brilliant replies lol Carol....star chars are fab as long as the kids think it is worth their while..hope it works for you

my children are aged 30 26 19 17 15 bit late to change the hotel rules now , they- ed all just laugh? its always been 5* dawn x

I bribe my 9 yr old with football cards...he has to do a good job tho or he doesnt get! My 6 yr old is a tidy little soul anyway. Just reading this, have realised he gets rewarded and she doesnt, because I dont have to nag her! Will remedy that situation immediately.

Oh dear I have had a chuckle at the answers on hear Well It doesnt get any Better when they leave home Mine comes to visit me and is always getting something out of a cupboard in his old room then goes and who is left to put it away and He is 46 good luck to you all trying He He xxxHowie

i love this thread . my house is an hotel. lol dawn x

A friend used the 'locked cupboard' technique. Toys left lying around after several polite requests were put in the cupboard by mum and stayed there for a week (or a couple of days, depending on age of child). My own mum used to throw my stuff out of the window when I was a teenager - that worked alright! OC

I remember it well! haha when my kids were in their teens it was BEDROOM - CLEAN - NOW but I don't think it really worked now the g/kids are here aged between 1 and 8 ti the older ones its your not going to leave your old granny to tidy up now are you? and hey presto its usually done no problem - learning in my old age! Norah not that I'm that old just old to the kids lol!

I learnt in life never to say 'can you' or 'could you'. If you say can you put the toys away their brains seem to say - i can but im not going to! If you say i would like you to put the toys away or please put your toys away the message seems to gets through!

mine r 14 and 10. I've just bought a star chat with rewards and stickers on each--is that desperation or what!!! :-) Carol x

Hi,living at home now i have 2 x teenagers ,chalk and cheese. One only as to be told to tidy her ,with a please at the end. The older one, ' the laptop will disppear if this room is not tidy. ' The 7 yr old is often asked and eventually does it,sometimes after i have sworn about the mess, i might add i don't swear at my child. Even though sometimes i would like to. The almost 3 yr old is like the teenager , she refuses .But she she does responed to stickers,i found this out at playgroup.So to encourage her i will get some. I too have put toys in the ' bin ' as the 3 yr old found out the other day ,lol. Tina