Although the temperatures have been slow to catch up in many places, spring has officially settled in. School will soon be out, and new activities and routines will be in, as parents struggle to replace the structure created by someone else being responsible for our children all day.
Spring is a time for renewal in many ways. For some, it’s simply the forced new summer routine.
Others see renewal through shedding the layers of coats and sweaters, celebrating the rebirth of Christ, or planting a garden and watching as new vegetables and fruits begin to sprout and come to life.
Sparked by one or more of these events, most of us feel some urge for a fresh start in life when spring hits. A necessary part of this new start is getting rid of the old that no longer serves you.
Spring cleaning is undoubtedly something you’ve heard of before, and may even be a part of your spring time rituals. If not, it should be.
Spring cleaning is a great way to set the mood for a brighter, lighter summer.
Something you may not have thought about before however, is doing a little spring cleaning not only of your house, but also of your habits.
A little cleaning of your house and your habits will be more fun and more effective if you can get the whole family involved.
You’ll likely get some push back from the kids, whose summer plans don’t have the word “cleaning” in them anywhere, but if you have an organized process for doing it, it doesn’t have to take long, and will make even the kids feel better in the end.
Spring Cleaning Your Child’s Rooms
Your child should be responsible for her room and any room that is primarily dedicated to her toys or “stuff,” with your help dependent upon her age.
Every spring, do a big clean by physically removing all the toys, books, and other entertainment from the room.
Then return to the room only the things she actually uses. Help her get rid of the things she never touches but wants to keep for “someday.” At the very least, convince her to put them in a box and store them away for now. If she hasn’t asked for them again by next year, you have an excellent argument for getting rid of them.
Make piles with the leftover things and decide whether to sell, donate, or trash them.
For the child who wants to hold on to too much, use the cleaning process to talk about how less fortunate kids would really appreciate the opportunity to have this toy that they probably will never get if someone like your child doesn’t donate.
Or, invoke another emotion and talk about how much money they could save up by selling the toys that aren’t their favorite, and how much space they can clear out to make room for new things in the future. Be careful, of course, not to use this as a time to just replace the old junk with new junk!
Think about how good spring cleaning makes you feel (once you’re done!) and don’t underestimate the same positive effect it will have on your child. They may not express it or even consciously realize it, but as is often true with adults, less is also more for children.
Lightening the physical load around your child will also have the effect of lightening her emotional load, and helping her usher in the carefree days of summer.
Spring Cleaning for the Mind
Since you’re already spending some time teaching lessons about renewal around the house, this is also an excellent time to get your child to develop a new positive habit. You, of course, should join in the fun and commit to developing one new habit for yourself.
Spring is also a good time for new habit development since the routines we are in are changing, with more outside time, fewer coats, new sports seasons, and the end of the school year just around the corner. It’s much easier to work a new habit into a new routine, than to try to interrupt an established routine with a new habit.
Work with your child to identify something that really bugs you that he could buy into changing without any major life disruptions.
Remember, we aren’t attempting the impossible task of creating a whole new person here. We don’t want to set anyone up for a new year’s resolutions-type of failure!
This can be something small, like putting your shoes in a certain spot every time your child takes them off so you aren’t constantly tripping over them, or searching the house to find them every time you need to be somewhere.
The magnitude of the new habit isn’t really significant. Like adults, how your child does one thing will become how he does everything. It may start with his shoes, but next you’ll find him putting his clothes in the hamper, hanging up his jacket . . . the possibilities are limitless.
Set up a fun system to track his behavior, and yours, when it comes to being successful at the new habit. But focus on fun here, don’t use this as a way to punish or scold your child.
The spring habit should be something both you and your child agree will make him better and make you both happier.
Schedule some type of celebration 30 to 60 days after you’ve done your spring house cleaning and started your spring habit cleaning. This could be as simple as going for ice cream to celebrate what you’ve accomplished, or as fancy as a full-scale party to show off your “new” house and new habit.
And as always, be sure to keep KidsPartyCharacters.com as your go-to resource for all party planning. We don’t just do birthday parties! We have over 200 characters to fit any occasion, as well as other fun activities like face painting and balloon twisting. Head over to our website at KidsPartyCharacters.com and start planning your spring cleaning celebration today.
Also connect with us on Facebook for ideas and inspirations in planning your parties.
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