Anonymous wrote:I would use a bin for each kid for their stuff if the hook isn’t enough. If you are home when the kids come home, you stand there as they come in the door and tell them to hang up their bag. They will be annoyed and start to do it so you leave them alone. If they drop it before you get home, you walk them right back to hang it up every single time. If they keep not doing it, you have them stand there and hang it up, unhook it, hang it up, unhook it five times in a row for practice. If they keep not hanging it up, you take the bag and all the stuff in it. If they want something out of it, you decide if you want to let them have it, but you don’t give the bag back for two days the first time. Give them a plastic grocery bag to carry their stuff in.

If you have to keep dealing with this, you charge them cash for each offense.

I came to say something like this. When I was growing up my sister and i had bedrooms on the 3rd floor - very open concept so from the 2nd floor you could tell if a bedroom light was left on. My mother would glance up as she walked past the stairway to the 3rd floor and if she saw a light on, she'd call both of us up from the 1st floor to turn the light off. Yes, she could have run up one flight of stairs and done it vs us having to go up 2 flights of stairs (and believe me, I muttered that IN MY HEAD many times) but eventually (and, sadly, it took a year or two!) we learned to TURN THE LIGHT OFF BEFORE we left our bedrooms.

She also called us up to put toilet paper in the roll if it was empty - she didn't do it, so it had to be one of us!

If you keep on doing it for them, even if you complain, yell, or whatever, all you are teaching them is that YOU will do it so why bother? YOU must make it harder to NOT do it. (AND, they need to TAKE THEIR HOMEWORK out, walk their lunchbox and water bottle to the kitchen counter as part of this process)

Now, make it easy - do the backpacks fit on the hooks (hooks aren't too close together?) Are there 2 hooks per kid, one for coat, one for backpack? Does backpack have it's own basket? Is there any easy place to put their sport shoes, boots and sneakers (if you don't want shoes in the house)? EASY - like every kid has their own large basket for boots/shoes - or there is a shelf that easily fits all shoes/boots for all kids? Once that's done, then it's a retraining thing,a nd it might take a year! (sorry, you don't want to hear that). Also, I'd haul them out the SECOND you notice that, including if that's in the middle of a tv show, talking on the phone, watching a video, eating dinner, having a snack.... the more interruption it is, the faster they will learn.

BEST, though, is for you to not allow them to enter the house until they have done it - and that means if they need to pee or eat, they need to just do it quickly!

How old are the kids? My kids bring everything up to their rooms to do HW (shoes are left by the door). My only issue is getting the lunch bag down to the kitchen. If they do not do that, I just put the items in the fridge and they load it themselves. They are runners so no real sports equipment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would use a bin for each kid for their stuff if the hook isn’t enough. If you are home when the kids come home, you stand there as they come in the door and tell them to hang up their bag. They will be annoyed and start to do it so you leave them alone. If they drop it before you get home, you walk them right back to hang it up every single time. If they keep not doing it, you have them stand there and hang it up, unhook it, hang it up, unhook it five times in a row for practice. If they keep not hanging it up, you take the bag and all the stuff in it. If they want something out of it, you decide if you want to let them have it, but you don’t give the bag back for two days the first time. Give them a plastic grocery bag to carry their stuff in.

If you have to keep dealing with this, you charge them cash for each offense.

Basically this. The Montessori preschool is spotless because they greet each child coming in, bring them to their cubby, show them where the shoes go, help them hang up their coat etc. Every. Single. Time. Until they get it.

You have to do something similar at home.

How do you teach that to a tween who doesn't care and throws backpack and shoes on the ground even though there is a shoe cabinet and hooks and bins at the entryway.?

I mean the same way you get tweens to do anything? Consequences. Basic parenting?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 3 year old has been putting her shoes away in the closet since she was 1. If she can put her backpack in her cubby, so can your kids.

Oh you're cute. Get back to us in a decade and a couple more kids.

Haha! Seriously, 1-3 year olds won’t just put their stuff away, they’ll do it 20 times in a row for you! That’s the novelty that hasn’t worn off yet…

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would use a bin for each kid for their stuff if the hook isn’t enough. If you are home when the kids come home, you stand there as they come in the door and tell them to hang up their bag. They will be annoyed and start to do it so you leave them alone. If they drop it before you get home, you walk them right back to hang it up every single time. If they keep not doing it, you have them stand there and hang it up, unhook it, hang it up, unhook it five times in a row for practice. If they keep not hanging it up, you take the bag and all the stuff in it. If they want something out of it, you decide if you want to let them have it, but you don’t give the bag back for two days the first time. Give them a plastic grocery bag to carry their stuff in.

If you have to keep dealing with this, you charge them cash for each offense.

Basically this. The Montessori preschool is spotless because they greet each child coming in, bring them to their cubby, show them where the shoes go, help them hang up their coat etc. Every. Single. Time. Until they get it.

You have to do something similar at home.

How do you teach that to a tween who doesn't care and throws backpack and shoes on the ground even though there is a shoe cabinet and hooks and bins at the entryway.?

Tell them that they either put things away within an hour of getting home or be prepared to be told to put things away at any time, your discretion. This could be bedtime, movie time, screen time etc. Or you could pay them. Sadly, option 2 will get faster results

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would use a bin for each kid for their stuff if the hook isn’t enough. If you are home when the kids come home, you stand there as they come in the door and tell them to hang up their bag. They will be annoyed and start to do it so you leave them alone. If they drop it before you get home, you walk them right back to hang it up every single time. If they keep not doing it, you have them stand there and hang it up, unhook it, hang it up, unhook it five times in a row for practice. If they keep not hanging it up, you take the bag and all the stuff in it. If they want something out of it, you decide if you want to let them have it, but you don’t give the bag back for two days the first time. Give them a plastic grocery bag to carry their stuff in.

If you have to keep dealing with this, you charge them cash for each offense.

Basically this. The Montessori preschool is spotless because they greet each child coming in, bring them to their cubby, show them where the shoes go, help them hang up their coat etc. Every. Single. Time. Until they get it.

You have to do something similar at home.

How do you teach that to a tween who doesn't care and throws backpack and shoes on the ground even though there is a shoe cabinet and hooks and bins at the entryway.?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 3 year old has been putting her shoes away in the closet since she was 1. If she can put her backpack in her cubby, so can your kids.

Oh you're cute. Get back to us in a decade and a couple more kids.

Right?? Hahaha oh PP you're cute.

I don't bother with hooks, we have baskets they dump their stuff in.

Anonymous wrote:My 3 year old has been putting her shoes away in the closet since she was 1. If she can put her backpack in her cubby, so can your kids.

Oh you're cute. Get back to us in a decade and a couple more kids.

My 3 year old has been putting her shoes away in the closet since she was 1. If she can put her backpack in her cubby, so can your kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would use a bin for each kid for their stuff if the hook isn’t enough. If you are home when the kids come home, you stand there as they come in the door and tell them to hang up their bag. They will be annoyed and start to do it so you leave them alone. If they drop it before you get home, you walk them right back to hang it up every single time. If they keep not doing it, you have them stand there and hang it up, unhook it, hang it up, unhook it five times in a row for practice. If they keep not hanging it up, you take the bag and all the stuff in it. If they want something out of it, you decide if you want to let them have it, but you don’t give the bag back for two days the first time. Give them a plastic grocery bag to carry their stuff in.

If you have to keep dealing with this, you charge them cash for each offense.

Basically this. The Montessori preschool is spotless because they greet each child coming in, bring them to their cubby, show them where the shoes go, help them hang up their coat etc. Every. Single. Time. Until they get it.

You have to do something similar at home.

Create the best environment you can to make it easy to put things away
They take care of their stuff when they walk in the door
If they’re young, you supervise them and make sure things are done correctly
I have a similar procedure at night, pack up the school bags, have your clothing ready

I prefer a reward to a fine if they’re a bit older and doing it on their own. If a “fun” belonging is left out I will confiscate for a reasonable time. I also make sure to have a basket for each kid at the stairs so they can put things easily into the basket and then take them up or down when they go.