Reply to Worried about perpetually messy house impact on kids

Forum Index » General Parenting Discussion

Reply to "Worried about perpetually messy house impact on kids"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]1) Be kind to yourself. Clutter— as long as it isn’t hoarder-style piles of stuff— never hurt a kid.
2) Agree with others that the mess is a symptom not the cause, and first step is looking out for yourself. Have you talked to your primary care physician?  You might be able to get a very low dose antidepressant that helps you feel things are more manageable and have a little more energy to get things done. 
3) Take baby steps. Start with one thing or area of the house, and work on just that at first. Build momentum with small wins.
4) Include the kids. Set expectations like “no screen time until your room is clean/laundry is put away/dishwasher is empty/whatever”.  We grew up without assigned chores, but with the expectation that if we saw things that weren’t clean/done, we should ask “what can I do to help?” While helpful for getting a house clean, I also think that approach teaches a collaborative work ethic that has helped me as an adult.

Good luck! FWIW, my mom struggled with anxiety and depression, and we all turned out fine, even though we frequently had cluttered counters,etc[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics