[carebear]

My kids are mess makers for sure but here's the thing, I don't clean up after them. I take them from room to room and have them clean up their own stuff.

I had a room mate who had a maid growing up because her parents were lazy and didn't feel like cleaning. She was terrible to live with. I asked her why she didn't pick up after herself and she said that she really didn't know how because she grew up with a maid. She didn't even know how to make a bed or wash dishes. And laundry! She would buy new clothes and pile her smelly ones in a pile in the room. I had to move eventually. It was bad.

[anarch]

Ugh... I totally sympathize. Even with my disorganized mind, I still manage to get the smelly things cleaned LOL.

Surprisingly, my daughter recently finished a cooking class and she would come home and tell me, "Mum... I can't believe it. These kids don't know how to make spaghetti. They have no clue how to wash clothes. They are clueless!"

I started teaching my daughter the basics of cooking and cleaning when she was 4. At 8, she was perfectly capable of cooking things like macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, and spaghetti on her own. I also stressed to her the importance of cleaning up as soon as you make a mess and showing her how much easier it is to just wash stuff as soon as you're done, and then it's not all stuck on the pans.

My son is more of a battle, but after an arguement, he will cooperate and clean things up. He likes to vacuum and do laundry, so there's a bonus. Oh... and he cooks chili

[carebear]

Yes, teaching them at an early age is teh best. I feel on the right road knowing you did it. My kids are still young.

Are our sons related?

[junglebunny]

I can't imagine having a maid. It might be nice to have one come in once every couple of weeks to do some cleaning, but I would be one of those people who would clean before the maid got there!

[busybeehelpers]

I doubt if I'll ever have a maid. But seriously as soon as my daugther is old enough I want her to learn the basics of keeping things picked up and at least somewhat organized.

[carebear]

Originally Posted by junglebunny

I can't imagine having a maid. It might be nice to have one come in once every couple of weeks to do some cleaning, but I would be one of those people who would clean before the maid got there!

If I'm ever blessed enough to have someone come in and do the deep cleaning, it would be a good day.

I feel the same though, my kids will clean up and so will I so she can clean up easier.

[carebear]

Originally Posted by busybeehelpers

I doubt if I'll ever have a maid. But seriously as soon as my daugther is old enough I want her to learn the basics of keeping things picked up and at least somewhat organized.

I taught my kids and have yet to see the fruits of my labour.

[Gilipsie]

Oh my goodness, as I yell about them cleaning up after themselves, I clean up after them. IT bothers me though because I know that they will never learn if I continue to clean up after them. But I can't help it. They are a mess. I know I should leave their things there but heck if I dont pick them up they wont either.

[sacback1]

You make your kids lazy if you clean up behind them. You may not want to do that. They will get tired of laying in their own filth hopefully.

[Ricardo]

We had a 20-year-old niece living with us for about a year. She was completely flighty and her room was a mess.

She'd leave decaying food in her room for weeks and we had two cats in the house. They're less trouble than she was.