Do Your Kids Seem to Tear Apart Your Home?
Parenthood isn’t for the faint of heart. Children require a lot of attention, care and energy. As a result, most parents are grateful for a break. This isn’t to say that parents don’t adore and love their children. At the same time, it can be a taxing yet rewarding job. When you’re dealing with children at home, one of the common observations is that children are naturally messy and don’t like cleaning up after themselves. While there are some children who are exceptions to the rule, most aren’t.
However, some parents actually overly active children who make it their mission to tear the home apart. If you’re a parent of this type of child and struggle to figure out how to keep your home in order, you might want to implement these tips.
Keep the Design Streamlined and Simple
Try to maintain a home that doesn’t have too many bells and whistles. Put the best china in boxes in the basement. Use plastic plates instead of ceramic plates. Avoid colors that are difficult to keep clean such as white and cream.
Get Durable furniture and Decor
Many overly active children love jumping on and off the couches, sliding down the stairs and many other high-intensity exercises. Make sure the couches are durable and are made of cloth materials. It might be best to avoid leather or a fabric that shows its wear over a period of time. Invest in windows, like those from Arch Design, that won’t break easily because of the children playing and throwing something indoors. Choose sturdy, wooden furniture that’ll withstand the test of time and, probably more importantly, your children.
It’s also wise to save up some money and invest a little more money in quality pieces. Don’t expect to buy furniture from the cheaper furniture retailers and expect it to last more than a year.
Have Consequences for Negative Behavior
While you can do everything in your power to create an environment conducive to your children’s active nature, they still need to learn to calm down when they’re inside. Normally, children like to test the limits to see how far they can go. Always remain consistent and firm in your approach. They need to understand that no means no. If they act up, there will be consequences. If they break something, they need to feel the consequence of their actions. It’s the only way they’ll be able to make progress and learn how to act when they’re inside.
Try Calming Techniques
Sometimes, children act out for various reasons. Do your best to create a calm and zen environment for your children. Maintain a consistent routine. Once school is over and it’s time to come home, make sure they fall in line with homework, chores and staying on task. Some popular techniques include going for a walk, folding into a pretzel, writing in a journal and hugging a stuffed animal.
As challenging as some moments may be, try not to wish away your children and anticipate the future years where they won’t be as active. Enjoy the days with your children because they will go by very quickly.