The food cupboards are stocked once again. You can always tell how much food is in the house by the state of the apple bowl. I put some tea outside to brew in the sun. It is a cool day, so I hope it brews ok..JPG)
Laundry is going, morning routines are done, though school will be late today. TJ came early this morning so his mommy could go to an appointment. The kids are all out back playing on the slide, the sandbox and enjoying the new (for TJ) adventure of baseball.
I was all set for a really good rant today!! I was fully prepared to just whine and complain, then I saw this sign hanging in my back hallway! OK, I will forgo the rant. I will ask for some advice though....
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...got the idea?? There are people suffering in the world, hungry, sick, homeless...yes I know this, but my daily battle with doors and drawers left open is bordering on insanity. I will not whine, nor will I name the culprit...yes, it is one lone individual...but I will ask you HOW in the world do you get a child to close a door or drawer after they open it??!! I do not want to give a reward for doing what you are suppose to do in the first place and consequences do not work in this case, though I am willing to try anything. Hmmmm. Please don't tell me I need to get over it....it is a HUGE thing for me. So get creative and HELP!!!!! Was that whining???? Ok, maybe a little.
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13 comments:
In our house it's dishes left downstairs. I told mine that if they couldn't bring their dishes to the sink, the privilege of eating downstairs would be gone.
So maybe give the child a few days to do better and actually close the doors/drawers or, for a time, they would not be able to open any door or drawer without assistance. A pain for you, but it might get the point across quickly.
It's a habit just like anything else. They will have to be reminded again and again to close the door or drawer before they'll remember to do it on their own.
Can you keep a door locked that they frequently use? I remember putting duct-tape on a drawer and telling them it was because invisible gremlins were leaving it open....they remembered to shut it the next time they had to pull the tape off to get back in it.
Good luck. If you find that instruction book for raising kids..send me a copy?! I think you're doing a good job.
Call the child (I'm assuming it's a child!!) back from whatever it is that they are doing the instant you discover the open door/drawer. Have them close it. Make this a priority for a few days. The offender should get sick and tired of having to drop whatever it is that they are doing to come back and do what they should have done to begin with. It will be a tedious process, of course, but the long term results will be worth it.
I was going to say what copper's wife said. Make them come back and shut it. Or, and this is very tedious but it worked with my kids, make them ask before they open the door and you can remind them to shut it.
My kids were so tired of having to ask for something as simple as opening a door that they learned to shut the door. LOL
Lots of good advice here! I just want to say I love the picture of Zachary on your sidebar!
Unfortunately -- I have no idea of the answer. If you find one, let me know. I have a husband who could use it as well :0).
I can so relate! Dove does it, Daddy Man uses humor he said..."Oh! No it's o.k. I'll get that..no, no, don't get up." Dove laughs and trys to race him to it. and then she has been improving with a giggle when she catches herself
I said to my family that I would take all doors off if they weren´t closed and asked them to imagine how it would look like.
I don't think there is an answer to this as long as children are in the house! I think the bigger deal you make out of it, the more doors will be left open! ha!
Well I don't have the answer. My daughter did that and we went round and round with it. Once she was out on her own, her Aunt went by one day and asked her why all her cabinets were open. She said well Mother always got on to me about that. This is my house and I'll do what I please. Of course, I notice she doesn't do this anymore.
I guess we all have peeves. My 10 year old grandson sits at the table leaning to one side with his knee in up and his foot on the chair. Almost lying down. This really bugs me but so far I"ve not discovered how to get him to stop. I think the more they know something bothers us the more they do it.
Mama Bear
Some good tips here. I must try some of them on Gom. On the other hand, I think it might be too late for him!
As soon as I seen the doors open, the drawers open and so on and so on,,,,I just knew what you were going to say...my hubby leaves them all open, even the lights on, and the burners on the stove are not shut off when he cooks...I get soo frustrate going behind him and closing and turning off...too late now to change him, so I say..just live with it!!! lol Char
Are the doors open in this child's room? You could go into their room and open all the drawers and leave them open, do this repeatedly until it bugs them.
The other idea I have is to acknowledge when they do close something - praise the good behavior ignore the behavior you want to change-giving it no acknowledgment.
Last one - Sit them down and discuss the preciousness of others and how someone is always coming behind us whether at home or the store, church, or McDonald's and closing doors is really thinking of those coming behind.
That's all I got! Hopefully you can use something!
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