Think In Advance!
January 5, 2013
Please Bare With Me For A Couple Of Days
January 8, 2013
Do You Have Little Monkeys (Kids)
Living In Your House?
My monkeys have all grown up now and have their own little monkeys to raise. You ask why am I referring to kids as monkeys? I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “Monkey See Monkey Do,” but have you every really thought about it?
At one time or another we all see our kids imitating us. Sometimes it’s funny but other times it is pretty revealing. Sometimes, they even tell on us when you least expect it. You see our children are always watching us. Even as babies, their little eyes follow us everywhere. Why is that? They are learning!!!
So, I bring up this subject because I can hear you complaining that your kids bedrooms are a wreck and they never pick up after themselves. Only when you have a melt down, do they even notice that there is anything out of place. Why? Because they have not been taught to notice it.
How can you teach your kids to notice that something needs to be cleaned up without you telling them? It’s simple really, let them see you clean your messes up on a regular basis! Uh Oh……It is fixing to get really messy up in here! 😳
Look at the world threw your kids eyes.
What your kids see is different from what you think they see!
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Do you see a pattern here? They are learning from us. Chances are if your child observes good behavior from you then it is likely to become part of his/her behavior as well.
They say it takes 21 days to learn a new habit and the same amount of time to break a bad one. This is however much easier for a child than it is for an adult. So, THERE IS STILL HOPE FOR YOUR KIDS!!!!!
Many years ago, I had a client that never folded or put away her laundry! There were piles of laundry everywhere and no one knew for sure which ones were clean or dirty. You literally could not get into her laundry room without walking over clothes. The strangest thing was, she kept buying new clothes for her and her family. I’m not talking about Walmart or Target clothes either. These were very expensive clothes. You could see tags still on items in the piles. She had a beautiful home, with at least 6,000 sq ft. Her downstairs was picture perfect, but once you hit the top floor was mind boggling. All down the hall were huge piles of clothing. In her bedroom alone there were at least 6 piles on any given day with brand new clothes everywhere.
Now I realize this is an extreme (but true) example especially in light of all the hoarding shows we see these days. She was not a hoarder by any means. Lazy? The later is most likely the answer. She hated laundry and loved to shop. What a combination. She also had a maid that came at least 3 times a week, which is probably why the downstairs looked so nice. But one day, I was working upstairs and observed the maid standing in the middle of the laundry room looking down and the clothes that she was standing on. She saw me standing there and we had this moment where we didn’t say anything and then she said, “This is just a sin, I say. You can’t wash’em fast enough and then there are twice as many the next day. This lady ain’t right!” I felt so sorry for that poor house keeper.
The reason I went down memory lane for a minute is that I remember this very client complaining that her teenagers were slobs and never cleaned their rooms and never helped around the house. Duhhhhh
Let’s start off the New Year displaying new behaviors that we want our kids to learn. For example: Before you say “Go make your bed,” make sure your bed is made first! Remember they are watching. It always helps to narrate out loud something to the effect “Whew, it feels good to have my bed made.” This reminds them that there is a personal reward for doing the same.
You can learn more about teaching your kids organization here:
How To Teach Organization To A 6 Year Old (This article has a video of my 6 year old grandson, Eli, organizing his laundry)
Baby Steps Series
Baby Steps #1 – New Year New You
