My Kids Are Dumpers,cant Seem to Change Them So How to Use That to MY Advantage

What do they do when they come home? Eat a snack? Play video games? Text friends? Go to friends's houses? They simply don't get to do it, not any of it, until the clutter is moved from the front door. The kids that consistantly take their stuff immediately to where it belongs might get extra time or first dibs on something. Or finders keepers and you take something they dumped and they don't get it back until the next day when they don't dump their stuff by the door.

A lot of great ideas have been posted here. I love the back door idea! Do you have one that would work? It doesn't matter if it's a litte inconvenient for them-they're kids.

great organization ........ sounds wonderful.
Get a jar of marbles. For each time they dump and walk away, take away a marble for each article. If the marble jar stays full for a week, take them to ice cream. Eventually it will be a habit and take the marbles away.

You don't need a new organizational idea, yours is perfect. You need some discipline in your home. My 3,5, & 6 year old know my rule about shoes, coats, & backpacks, they get absolutely nothing till it's all put away.

Honestly, and please don't take this as a dig on you, I think you should enforce the coat hooks. We had 6 kids living in one single-wide trailer house... plus the adults! LOL! We used to dump our stuff too, but it made an unholy mess with all of us. If we didn't use our hook, we would lose our stuff for a day. My parents had stuff for us to use instead... a REALLY ugly coat and a hideous backpack. (shoes weren't such a big deal for us though...) It only took once or twice of wearing the ugly stuff to school before we started using the hook! For our toys and balls, we had a big bin that sat outside on our porch that it all went into before going back inside. :)

well i have had same problem. and what i did works most of the time.. If they didnt put their stuff away i put it all outside by door or in yard LOL,,, i was also tried of talking and asking to do this.. soooo i came up with throw it back out side and next time u might listen!

For starters....Dead bolt the front door and have them come in the back door! The basket for each person is a good thing (at the back door). You can stack the baskets so they are used in the order in which your children arrive.

If they would like to enter through the front door, they start using the nice things that you have already placed there for all their stuff and Dad doesn't have to squeeze in.

Blessings...

I like your system, if you had more room i would consider the baskets because i think that does suit them better but i really don't think it's an option in this case.
What i would do is create a postive motivator for hanging up their stuff. I think it takes 90 days to build a habit, so every day they do it with out being reminded they earn video game time, icecream for dessert, what ever motivates them, and do it often enough that they are feeling good about themselves. then in 90 days they sould be set into this and you won't need rewards anymore. But start ASAP because it only gets harder whenthey get older./

family meeting -- get the kids involved with problem solving, what would they LIKE to use? They can help you measure, do a little online pre-shopping, then take them to Target or Container Store and help you build a new system that they'll use. Maybe each kid wants something different -- a closed hamper to just toss stuff in, or hooks or whatever but the sooner you get them on board the more likely they are to use the system.

I think the baskets you mentioned would work well! Do they get in trouble if their stuff is not put away? Like they can't play or something until it is done? That may work. But they basket are a great idea- they can just dump their stuff into their baskets! Maybe let them decorate a sign with theor name on it for the basket so they take a bit more pride in it.

Would something like this work?

http://www.landofnod.com/all-storage-and-shelving/kids/cu...

Also I don't nag, I just tell them once and then when it comes time for dessert at dinner I tell them no, you didn't do whatever it was. In fact I have gotten to the point that my daughter makes her bed every morning so she can have yogurt after breakfast.

Kids will be this way until they ahve their own places and they want it to look nice. I find that kids need to be told things about 7 thousand times, then they need to be reminded, then told again... It's just not important to them - so you have to make it important - if they don't pick up thier favorite shoes or jacket, then make it disappear - they'll have to wear their back-up. Still haven't mastered this in our household - maybe when they move out sme day?

I would simply tell them since you have all organized for them that something is going to be taken away if they keep this up. This could be in the range of renting a movie, staying up later on a wknd, buying them something that they absoutely want or taking away something. Sit them down and tell them how this upsets you so. Maybe they just dont' get it because they know you will do it. If you dont' start something now it will never stop. I think having a little talk with them and saying you have so much other things to do that it just simply makes you mad that you have to do it. Ask them what they do if they go to a friends. I bet they dont' do what they do at home. Even though you wont' do this tell them you are going to call their friends parents and ask if they properly hang their coats up and put their shoes away, this may just make them think and of course they dont' want to be embarrassed by you telling their friends parents how they are at their own home. Good Luck Mom, its time for that chat with them!!

Give them each a basket to dump all of their stuff in. Hang the basket tops where your cute coat hooks are now. Then all you need to do after they're home is take the basket top off the hook and cover up the entire basket. Voila!

Your kids can still dump their stuff, but you don't have to look at it. And if you don't have enough floor space for all the baskets you'd need, hang a few higher for the taller people.

What about putting a wicker toy box with a lid by the door and tell them to put their things in there. At the end of the night before bed, they can come get their things.

M

I would just stick up a big note that specifically states what they need to do, in a place that they can't ignore. Anything that is out of place conveniently and mysteriously "disappears". It might be faster to pick it up yourself but that is not teaching them personal responsibility.

Another thought of mine is sit them all down and tell them we have a real problem because of the stuff being dumped by the door, then ask THEM how they think they could solve it.

I had the same problem and this is what worked for me. I sat the kids down and I explained what they were doing and how it made me feel and how I felt it was a hazard and how other people would feel coming to the door with it that way. I told them I didn't want to continue this way. I explained what I do before they get home in great detail. Clean things up, get dinner ready make sure the baby had his nap. These were my responsibilities to make their lives easier and more pleasant. What could they do to make the situation better? They suggested to be quite and put their stuff away. We agreed no talking until it was done, which includes no yelling at them on my part. There was some disagreeing about all this, but I was firm that if they wanted me to continue doing my part they would have to do their part.

Give them each a box that will fit most of their stuff. Write their name on it and let them "dump" in there.