Tried Everything

When we left off, your child was watching TV, right? Despite repeated requests to tidy their bedroom, nothing worked. Well, that’s not entirely true. If nothing worked, it meant we’d tried everything.

And we haven’t. The second part of Tell me, I forget is: Show me, I remember. 

But we’re tidying a room; how do I show that? Showing means lots of things. You can put on a show, go to a show, show happiness, or demonstrate. 

Wait! Are you suggesting I tidy my child’s room for them? Well, yes, and no. 

What’s the goal here? 

Answer: a tidy room. Now let me ask this:

What will the clean room look like?  

When you clean something yourself, how do you know when to stop? What conditions cause you to step back and say, ‘Job done.’ Please take a moment to think it over.

Put yourself in your child’s place. Ask them to tell you, ahead of time, what their room will look like when they’re done. Children have a depth of thought that surprises us at times. Other times, we struggle to get an answer from them.

Stick with it–obtain the child’s view.  

Does their picture match yours?

You know where this is leading, right? Show me, I remember. Lead the child to their room and demonstrate tidying. Better still, work with them. Show them what it looks like. 

Make sure you have a firm notion of what it should look like. Kids like certainty.