The secret of having a tidy house with children is dependent on some factors like the age of your children, the space In-between them, yourself and temperament, your partner/husband and all those who live in the house with you and even the setting of your house.

Here Are a Few Things You Can Do

Be Patient:

As long as you have children in the house, you should not expect your house to be so perfect that is, all nice and clean especially if you have young children. No matter how tidy you do, your children will always make a mess. So, you have to map out certain places for mess making like splashing of water, painting and the rest and gradually teach them how to clean up their mess when they finish.

You can achieve this by getting all of you involved. Let your children explore and make all the messes, remember they are children and that’s how they learn to be creative and they build their smart brain by doing so. They will not be children forever so it’s a phase that will pass. Make the most out of it and enjoy the phase.

Put Routine In Place:

There should be designated time that you and your children set outside for tidying up on a daily basis, it could be in the morning, before bed depending on what works for you. In my house before bedtime, we do a quick one. The most important thing about this is consistency. That will make it form habits no matter the age of your children.

Get Your Children Involved:

Assign age appropriate tasks for your children. My 2yesrs son takes his nappies to the bin after changing; he takes his plate to the sink after eating. You can even make it a game and fun, don’t be too harsh. Remember whatever we do with our kids, it must be fun to make it memorable.

Responsibility/ Organization skills:

Teach your children Responsibility / organization. Show them how to look after their belongings and let them know that nobody can look after it better for them if they don’t look after it first.

Model lt: remember children learn more from what they see you do than what you say to them. When you model tidiness in all your doings, your children will learn and will become part and parcel of them.

Setting Limits:

Setting limits is not all toys you bring out at a time. Only bring out things your children need for play per time and whatever they have outgrown or not using anymore please give it out. E.g. clothes, books, toys otherwise your house will be so unkempt.

Always Reward Good Behavior:

This doesn’t necessarily have to be tangible. It could be use of mouth e.g. “thank you so much Ade for helping me tidy up the kitchen, I don’t know how I would have tidied it all up without you”. You can give stickers to younger children, and can give extra 5minutes for play time or special treats . This is just to motivate them to help more.

Worry Not :

Sometimes we worry too much. Tidying up at all times isn’t an emergency so why not leave it for later and have that 5 minutes rest. Go for that walk, take a seat and enjoy that cup of tea. Remember your first responsibility as parent is to look after yourself. Worrying about your house being untidy can lead to burnout which puts so much pressure on you hence leading to nagging, whining, yelling, and smacking. Your friends and families will understand you have young children. It shouldn’t be about them but about yourself and your children so calm down.

Childproof Your House:

Is essential to create a safe environment for your children. There are loads of comprehensive guide on how to childproof different areas of your home e.g. Kitchen:
Install stove knob covers to prevent accidental burner activation, Use cabinet locks and latches to secure access to cleaning supplies, knives, and other hazardous items, Keep sharp objects out of reach or in locked drawers, Use safety gates to restrict access to the kitchen when necessary.

Have Friends That Are In The Same Shoes With You: sharing your struggles with friends that are in the same shoes with you will help ease the pressure, joke, laugh about it and this will help with your general wellbeing, especially sharing with people of the same mind and knowing you are not on this journey alone.

The truth is, having a tidy house with children is not 100 percent guaranteed, you have to understand that children will always be children. Don’t make your house tense and chaos rather your house should be calm, peaceful, and joyous. Otherwise you’ll make a mess of your parenting. Perfection shouldn’t be your priority, but gradually making progress should be the centre focus and also know that making mistakes is part of your parenting journey.