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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As you can see from responses, people who couldn’t control toddlers’ messes also can’t control teens’ messes. My house was never a mess a growing up at any age and my house with current kids now has never been a mess at any age [/quote]

I think people place different values on neatness v. creativity.  Some people think that kids should be allowed to play freely, pulling toys from all over and making the biggest lego/magnatile/LOL doll village ever, because that encourages creativity.  And it should stay for days because they'll keep using it.  Others value neatness and organization more and would never allow that to happen.  Only a few things out at a time and everything gets put away at the end of the day.  Up to you where you draw the line.

I'm not saying one way is better than the other.  We probably lean toward the former, but sometimes I wonder if I'm shortchanging my kids not teaching them enough organization and neatness.  I think you can't have it all --  if you're extremely neat, you probably are sacrificing something in terms of creativity.  If you give the kids free rein, you can't really expect your house to snap back into a neat-as-a-pin state at the end of the day.  [/quote]

See, I’m fine with that kind of mess in bedrooms or the playroom.  Those are kid areas.  As long as the floor can be vacuumed (bedroom) or swept and mopped (playroom) once a week, that’s all I care.

But the rest of the house?  You don’t bring out more than you can carry, and it goes back into the bedroom or playroom when you’re done.[/quote]

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