Last night I informed my two sons that they would need to clean up their room again. Link objected on the grounds that they had cleaned it only that morning. I pointed out that since morning they had played games and left toys strewn over the floor. I further pointed out that if kids just cleaned up when they were done, none of the rooms would ever be a mess and we would not have to have enforced cleaning times. This was not a unique conversation. I’ve tried to teach this concept repeatedly, but apparently the concept never clicked for Link before. This morning he got up and before I was even awake he picked up his room, his sister’s room, and the entire family room. I woke up to a gloriously clean house. Link was much hugged and praised for this event. He even got to take his money and go shopping with his dad.
I have no illusion that this behavior will continue indefinitely. But I’m so glad that I had a chance to praise Link. Lately most of our interactions have been negative, me trying to enforce bedtime or clean up time. And if nothing else I am now armed with this experience. At a future date I can remind him of this time when he cleaned everything up all by himself and how good it felt.