Think about the last couple of times you helped clean up your child’s things. Make a list of what things had to be cleaned up (legos, books, floor, shelves, etc.).

Make two columns.  Mark who did the clean up next to each thing on the list: “Me,” “Child with Help,” or “Child Alone.”

If you were to repeat this list next month, would you want it to look different? How many of the clean-ups did you do? Were there more things that your child could have cleaned up – at least with some help? Were there any things your child could have cleaned up by himself, but didn’t?

Think about who was making the decision about who would clean up what. Over the next month, at clean-up time let your child know as you start what he is expected to clean up by himself, clean up with your help, and can count on you to clean up for him. As you are practice this over the weeks, be sure to let him know how well he is doing at cleaning up.

Make a new list a month from now and see if it has changed for the better with your child being responsible for as much clean-up as he is capable of. Think about whether there are more things he could do on his own, if you showed him how.