Clean-up = Clean-out

We've had a bit of a clean-up problem brewing for awhile. Luke can do an exceptional job cleaning up his room...when he wants to. I've noticed however, that lately he has been doing less, and I have been doing more. He's learned that the slower he goes, the less he has to do. It's been a subtle thing that has just recently made itself evident. He's a sneaky little fellow! =) So, upon learning his little trick, I began to push him a bit harder to do more of the cleaning...he wasn't a fan of mommy's new plan.

The whole issue has now escalated to a whole new playing field. Ugh! I have finally had to lay down the law...and lay it down hard. I give him an allotted time to clean his room, set the timer, help him get started by picking up some things - then giving him the responsibility of cleaning up the rest. After the timer goes off, anything left on the floor or that hasn't been put away goes into a box and into my room where he is not allowed to play with it anymore.

The "lost" toys don't have to stay in my room forever though. If he cleans his room before the timer dings, I bring in a box of the "lost" toys and allow him to put away whatever he can before the timer goes off.

It seemed like a really good plan in my head.

I thought this would really put the fire under his feet...especially when he lost toys he really enjoys playing with. I thought it might take a few days, but once he saw his toys dwindling, he'd get the idea.

It's been 5 days now.

He has lost 75% of his toys.

My room is now overcrowded with boxes of "lost" toys.

He drags his feet more and more each day it seems! He'll cry when he sees one of his favorite toys go in the box, but by the time the next night rolls around, even the thought of earning it back doesn't seem to motivate him to clean his room.

I guess the thing that frustrates me the most (and I know this will be an ongoing battle because this is a part of his personality) is that he knows exactly what he needs to do. But knowing and doing are two different things. He's smart. He is really really smart. He knows exactly what I'm asking of him and what I expect of him. He knows what the rules are. He knows what he's supposed to do. He just doesn't want to do it. Ugh.

I plan to follow through with my plan even if it means taking every single toy in the end. I feel like he's old enough to clean up his toys. And it's by no means a new concept for him either -he's been picking up his toys since he was a wee little one! I don't know why he's chosen now to resist it so much. But I've told him that if he wants toys to play with, he is old enough to show some responsibility for them. Part of that responsibility is putting them away when he gets them out.

So, welcome to the world of a 3 year old I guess! Oh the joys of the battles!=)