forever tidying up...

I wonder if kids have any idea how all their stuff gets back to where it should be. I wonder if it ever occurs to them, when the go to fetch something from the place it should be and they find it there, that actually, they left it dumped on the floor somewhere, but now it’s miraculously back where it should be. I wonder if my girls noticed tonight, when they went upstairs after their tea, to go to bed, that all their pillows, duvets and pyjamas were all back on their beds where they should be, even though they had left them all over the floor in various rooms as part of the game they were playing earlier? I wonder whether Abbie was surprised to see the mirror back in the bathroom, when she wanted it tonight to look at where her wobbly tooth has come out (very exciting!), even though she had left it in another room from an early viewing of her ‘gap’? I sometimes worry that I do too much tidying up for them and that I should insist that they do more themselves, but most of the time it is just so much easier and quicker to get it done myself. Especially at bedtime, I find getting them all ready for bed and sorted out enough work, without having to manage everyone trying to be involved in the tidy up. Maybe it’s time to make an effort to get them more involved. The trouble with Abbie helping with tidying up is that she’s a hoarder, so every little scrap of paper, wrapper, old packet, picture, cracker toy from years ago has to be kept! So rather than actually sorting things out, we end up just finding places to put all the important scraps that she just can’t part with! (Abbie so doesn’t get that the fun is sometimes in the making of the thing, not in keeping the cardboard box with a few things glued on for ever and ever!) Millie is good at tidying and can be persuaded to get rid of that old bit of broken plastic toy, but her idea of tiding is lining up all her toys along the window sill and on her bedside table.

Also, why is it that when you try to get rid of some toys or games that no-one ever plays with, if any of them happen to see it happening, suddenly that toy is the very special to them, the most important toy in the world and they just have to keep it. They haven’t touched it for months and months but they couldn’t possibly part with it, as it is just so brilliant and they love it sooo much.

Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to keep on with the never ending task of tidying up after them for now.... I wonder at what age I can leave them to sort out their own rooms? Maybe I’ll just keep the door shut and pretend it’s all not there and they’ll just have to climb their way into bed each night!