I have a kid question...I have ALOT of toys, so much so I made DH get rid of his pool table so we could have a play room LOL. Being from a day care center background I have everything set up in centers, I have the toys divided into categories and sorted into bins. We have a kitchen and dress up center the dress up clothes are in a trunk, the kitchen dishes and food are in a plastic three drawer unit, the dolls and doll clothes have a plastic set of drawers as well. The kitchen is set up in a corner, then I have a shelf that comes out from the wall perpendicularly to create a little "room" It's like a mini kitchen complete with tabel and chairs.
I have all the fp little people sorted by playset into bins, legos in a bin, baby toys (apporved for the 8 month old) in a bin, cars and trucks in a bin, there is a reading area with a couch to sit on. While playing they have the large play room AND my livingroom in which to spread out. I am laying this all out b/c I let the kids have one center or type of toy at a time for the most part, sometimes the older kids have one area and the two year old another. So when it's clean up time it seems to me that it's not that hard to pick up the toys and dump them in a bin.
The kitchen and dress up is a bit harder as things have to be sorted into the three areas of the kitchen center. I always help the kids clean up...but they just don't help me. They walk exaggeratedly slow, they play with stuff instead of put it away, they get side tracked. I timed it once it took the boy I watch 17 minutes to put one toy away. I have to ask them 100 times to clean up. My dd is three as is the boy I watch and my DS is almost 2. I expect the three year olds to help more. Frankly I think they should be able to do it themsleves while I help the two year old, or make lunch, or feed the baby. Am I asking too much? I know they are three, but it seems to me that they are working me over to get out of cleaning up.
We've tried clean up charts, rewards, races, songs, and I even have a timer I set..anything that's not picked up in 10 minutes is thrown into a trash bag (granted I usually put the stuff back after a few weeks when they aren't looking b/c I am not throwing out a $50 leap pad or $30 cabbage patch doll). I told DD today if she didn't get the legos picked up she was going to lose tv privlages, she said "that's ok mommy I don't want to watch tv anyway" I have even tried spanking her but obviously not the boy I watch.
Clean up time has become such a nightmare there are days when I could cry, the days when I'm busy and while switching laundry DS is dumping box after box. I'm not a neat freak, but I would like to be able to walk through my livingroom.
My point I guess is, how much can a three year old be responsible for? How much time is reasonable to expect them to clean up? They've been cleaning up blocks for over 30 minutes...I had to leave the room b/c I was getting so annoyed, thus the reason I am typing now lOL. How can I get them to do it without asking 800 times and pulling out my hair?
Any ideas and help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!