We have a special time for children in our household every evening called Ten Minute Tidy. A timer is set for ten minutes and the children are tasked to spend those ten minutes picking up things around the house and putting them in their proper place.
Except it’s not really a task. It’s a privilege they look forward to, and complain about missing if overlooked one evening! How do you encourage children to enjoy such a time? Rewards! Whoever was the fastest, or the most effective, or had the most stuff in their hands, or whatever you see them doing, gets an award such as a popsicle at the end of the ten minutes.
Of course everyone gets an award. They know this and look forward to each Ten Minute Tidy. Maybe they think they are getting away with something. But who just got their whole house tidied up in ten minutes? 😀
