Tips to get your Preschooler to pack after playing!

So I was inspired to write this post after I read something about the Montessori way of getting your kids to clear up after themselves and when I saw it, I was like wait a minute, I’m doing most of that already and I didn’t know others had made it into a system. Most, if not all the suggestions I made below I have tried and tested with my daughter and it seems to work so far (cross fingers) so go ahead and see if you can implement them!

Start from a young age 

I mean really young because children can actually understand A LOT of things from a young age, even though they do not know how to express themselves yet. So even as a toddler, you can try explaining to them by showing them how you clear up one toy after they are done playing with that one toy. Which leads me to my next point, which you can demonstrate to them from a young age, where the play area is located and how the toys always go back there.

Return the items back to the same place so they know each item has its own set location 

After a while, your child will automatically start to understand where the books are located, where the toys are located, where the sensory and messier toys are placed in a separate area. It also makes it much easier when they start returning the toys back to their original locations where they will know they belong.

Play with one set at a time, if they choose to combine sets remind them to clear them altogether once done 

Ok so this is a personal preference, sometimes when a child pulls up multiple play sets and mixes them all together, it is good for this exercise in cultivating their imagination. The end result could be a massive headache and a mess though.

So a good alternative would be to start them off playing with one set and if they want to move onto another toy, try suggesting ‘how about keeping the first set since you want to move onto the second one’. Then if they choose to combine them together to play, try reminding them to clear them altogether once they are done with both sets.

Consistent reminders

Like many other things with children, consistency is key, whether teaching or reminding. Likewise, when it comes to clearing up the toys, always try to prompt them to do it themselves, consistently. If you choose to clear for them sometimes and sometimes demand they do it, they can get confused.

So at each instant when toys need to be cleared, remind them again and if you are lucky, you can get to a point where they don’t have to be reminded and they automatically return their toys back to their original positions!

Engage the child together in the cleanup 

This is helpful sometimes when the mess is pretty big and the child is tired. Instead of demanding they clear up, get them to clear up together with you. Let them know you are working on this task together and then they can do their part while you do yours. You’d be surprised how motivated they can be when you join in the activity with them. Which leads me to my next point, which is to try and make it into a game.

Make it into a competition or a game 

You could always do it like it’s a competition with Mummy, or if you have more than one kid, something for both of them to compete. Basically, whoever clears more toys wins or fills up a box first wins. Or you could get them to categorize all the same toys together in one location, like all the blue ones together and the red ones elsewhere. Kids love all sorts of games, anything to make cleaning up less mundane and they may just play along with you!

Give them some time before switching to the next activity and give them a count down 

I find this works pretty well for me when I set an expectation ‘deadline’. For example, if it is time for lunch and it’s time to stop playing, say something like ‘we’re going to have lunch soon in 20 minutes then, so you can play a while longer but I need you to start packing up soon’.

So when the deadline draws nearer, something like ‘ok remember lunch soon perhaps in 5 minutes, so start clearing your toys’ as opposed to saying something like ‘stopping playing now, time to eat’. So they start getting ready to clear up their things because they were given a pre-emptive reminder. It really does help with the clearing up process!

Incentivize them with simple rewards or the next activity 

This is not something I do often but very occasionally. Incentivize them with whatever they love, perhaps stickers for girls and trucks for boys. For instance, if they clear up their toys for lunch, perhaps after lunch they can go do another activity they love. Or perhaps play with another set of toys they love. I do use this in moderation though because children have a tricky way of manipulating adults and soon you will find you can’t get them to do anything without offering an incentive :).

There you have it, my simple suggestions for getting your preschooler to clear up their messes. I’m not really sure if this is the Montessori way of doing things but generally it’s the way I do it and it seems to work well for me, for now… :) But you know how it is, children go into their next evolution and could leave you baffled at the very next moment.

This was also precisely why I decided to come up with toy sets that could be easily housed in a container of some sort. Especially when it comes to little toys perfect for little hands, sometimes they can be littered everywhere in the living room or the bedroom.

For my little mini amis, they are great for preschoolers to grab and pretend play and don’t forget to remind them to put them back into the containers where they belong! To check out the pattern collections with a container to hold the contents, check it out below. What about you? What are some of your ideas to get them packing - comment below and let me know!