Dad Got His Easily Distracted Sons to “Seriously” Clean Their Room

For us mere mortals, getting our kids to clean up their own mess is a daily struggle.

But after probably years of picking up his sons’ clutter, this dad has finally figured it out.

(And is generous enough to share his light bulb moment with us.)

Reddit user iamonlyoneman shares that his youngest boys share one room and every time he asks them to put away their toys, they just end up playing with them.

Totally productive…. Not!

The good dad used to just let it slide because the boys were still bonding over the mess anyway. Until he had an epiphany.

“Each of you pick up 30 things and put them away where they go,” he shares in his Reddit post.

His simple instruction quickly turned into a race and a competition between the boys. And, hallelujah, it resulted to the room actually getting cleaned within just a few minutes!

(Bonus brownie points: it helps kids practice counting. Win-win!)

The dad adds that their room almost looks as good as how it looks like when their mum cleans it.

We were genuinely shocked and may or may not subject our kids to an experiment later at home.

PS: For those who only have one kid (like me), get a timer and make it a race against time.

Works perfectly, too!

Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney, she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

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