Tidy up time battles.

[littleraysofsunshine]

What's your tips please?!

[SizzleSazz]

No TV till tidying up is done.

[PoppyWearer]

Play the "time to tidy up" song like they do at nursery (two times over if needed).

[glenthebattleostrich]

Tidy up time song works quite well and the tidy up time challenge - who can put the most toys away in the correct place (I look after a very competitive 3 year old!) with the winner getting a sticker.

If all else fails the 'messy toy' box - any toys not put away get put in my special box where they can't come out for a day or 2 - simple rule being if they can get the toy out they can put it away!

[SilveryMoon]

I've told my ds's (4yo and 5yo) that if they leave their toys out, the toy fairy thinks they are for her and she takes them away to play with them.
What actually happens is that if they go to bed with toys not put away, I put them in a bin-bag in the back of my wardrobe.
Works well.

[InsanelyBrainDeprived]

Routine is your friend. I'm my house all toys get put away while tea is cooking. They help as much as toddlers can. Tea is eaten and quiet time toys come out such as jigsaw, books etc. five minute warning till bath time. Remaining toys cleared.

Once downstairs they can watch an episode of mr moon or whoever is flavour of the week then upstairs to bed.

[InsanelyBrainDeprived]

Killed the thread

[grabaspoon]

Agree I generally get mine to tidy up while I'm cooking lunch/tea then meal is ready when it's tidy - if the room isn't tidy; I start eating my meal and only when I have finished my meal will I get up from the table to get DC's. So it pays to be tidy.

[littleraysofsunshine]

How old are your dc's?

[DorisShutt]

Tidy up time song???

Where do you find such a wonderful thing?

(For the record, we don't have a tidy up time as such, more we do it as we go along, but I could do with something at the end of the day to signal the swap to bedtime routine)

[chocolatecheesecake]

To the tune of frere jacques:

Tidy up time, tidy up time
Boys and girls, boys and girls
Lets be good little helpers, lets be good little helpers
Tidy up. Tidy up.

From nursery!

[DorisShutt]

Ooh, even my terrible singing might manage that! Thanks!

[BlueChampagne]

Anything could be a tidy up song if you work at it long enough to instil a pavlovian reaction!

[PoppyWearer]

This is the tidy up song they use at nursery and I play it from Spotify. I'm sure it's out there on iTunes or the Internet as well.

[Iwantmybed]

Bribery

[LittleMissLucy]

Music and bribes.

[Sparklingbrook]

When mine were little I would set the kitchen timer and see how much they could put away before it went ding.

[littleraysofsunshine]

I tried the song, and it worked. I made up my own version to include our names :)