Label Your Child’s Dresser Drawers With What’s Inside
If your child doesn’t want to put away clothes, toys, or other items, chances are good that they simply won’t want to clean up. But if this has turned into an ordinary battle, in which their opposition to the request seems disproportionate to the request, there may be something deeper in the game. In fact, they can be confused as to which items go where.
It was an epiphany that recently happened to a parent on Reddit when their daughter didn’t get the idea of folding clothes in a dresser. U / cahawkri3510 explains :
My usually sweet 4.5 year old girl threw all of her clothes on the floor because she was mad at me for putting too little Parmesan cheese on her spaghetti (if she put it on, oh my god, half the can would fall out on the floor – you all understand what I’m talking about).
(Yes.)
So I asked her to put them back in the boxes, and she said at full speed: “I CAN’T. I NEED YOU HELP MIIIIIIII “. Yadda-yadda, etc.
I got an idea WHY she resists folding her clothes so violently. I run to the computer and google shirt / pants / pajamas coloring pages and print out simple pictures of the clothes, some of which she helped to choose and she helped cut out and attach to their respective drawers.
Thereafter? She collected each item, one by one, and returned them to their rightful places. The task no longer seemed overwhelming because latent confusion and frustration were eliminated.
This tactic can be used in many different ways in your home. Label your little child’s toy boxes so they can more easily see what types of toys belong to different locations (cars here, dolls there). Or maybe you tried to teach your big kid how to empty the dishwasher but they were very reluctant – try labeling your cabinets so it is easier for them to see where the plates go rather than where the coffee mugs are.
If your kids can read, simple typed or handwritten words written on the front of cabinets, drawers and drawers will do. For those who do not read, you can involve them in the labeling process – ask them to draw some labels or print simple pictures of each item that they can color in. (I took u / cahawkri3510’s advice and searched for “free coloring pages” and “ pajamas / shirts / socks ” and found many pretty options.)
Commentators on the Reddit post noted that this may be true not only for young children, but also for teens (and heck, adults). A mini-tantrum over a rather mundane task may be a sign that they need more information or guidance.