It can be a battle to get your children to tidy their own room and make their bed. Often parents will come to the conclusion it is easiest to do it themselves but when children are encouraged to do the work, they learn some valuable lessons. They start to understand the importance of being responsible for their own things and it can even help to build their self-esteem.

Here are some practical tips to help your kids make their bed and tidy their own room. Cheap single beds with storage will even help to make solutions cost-effective.

Declutter

A great way to start this new routine is to declutter and ensure there isn't too much stuff in their room to start with. The less there is for them to keep tidy, the easier it will be.

This could even be a task they can get involved with. Have a chat with them and explain broken items need to be thrown away and things they don't play with could go to a charity shop so someone else could enjoy them.

Make some piles and let them help sort the contents of their room. This also means you avoid the awkward questions about where toys have disappeared to!

Bed with underbed storage

The next vital step is to ensure there is enough storage in their room. If your child hasn't got a place to put all their toys then they will never be able to keep them tidy. Storage ideas can be fun and don't need to be too expensive. One often overlooked idea is to get a bed with underbed storage. There are now fantastic and cheap single beds with storage available, which could be the ideal solution. It is even possible to find a low bed with storage for younger children where you want to avoid a full height bed.

Other storage

Look for other practical storage areas such as shelving and boxes. Important factors include your child being able to reach them and easily open or close if required. When you have sufficient space available, the next step is to decide where everything should go. It is important that you agree this with your child so they are confident knowing where things should go.

MAKING THEIR BED

The final step to encourage your child in keeping their room tidy is making the bed itself. It is not only vital to talk your child through the process but also to manage your own expectations. A child making a bed in the morning may achieve a different result to you doing it yourself. However, if you can stop yourself from correcting their work (even if it's lumpy!) they will have a much stronger sense of a job well done.