The kids' rooms have been pretty out of control lately. Especially Jacob's since that is where they are usually found. I have had it up to here with telling him to clean his room, setting a timer for him to clean, threatening him to clean. I decided to pull out the bag again. We have only done this one other time, when I was really feeling irritated by all the clutter. So I set the timer and told him I would be in when it was done to take whatever was left on the floor. I think he was trying to call my bluff because when the buzzer rang and I went in his room, I found him not cleaning, but dancing in front of his mirror to his Alvin & The Chipmunks soundtrack. I immediately grabbed a bag and started filling it, while Jacob was crying and screaming in protest. I felt a little bad, but I really am fed up of the toy carpet in his room and telling him all throughout the day to clean it, only to find it in the exact same condition hours later. I am hoping he got the message. Now if he has his room clean before he goes to bed without me nagging at him, he gets to pick 5 toys out of the bag. He always tries to up the ante to 10 or 100, but I stand firm at 5. Here he is picking out his most treasured 5 things for the evening.
As much as I dislike having a bulky garbage bag full of toys laying around the house, it comes in handy as a bribe or as a punishment. Unfortunately we had to add many items to his bag today because he let his room get out of control again. Being a parent who gets ignored all the time can be pretty maddening!!
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