Spring Cleaning Not Really Happening

So it is that time of year where everyone starts deep cleaning their homes.  Getting rid of stuff that is no longer needed.  The organization plans are under way and the idea of the perfectly decorated home is in place.  It is a magic time of refreshing our space.

This is what we intend to do.  The reality of the situation is not so magical.  There is the hours of sorting, moving things around, and the cleaning of everything.  It seems like a never ending task that will consume are nice days.  Who wants to be inside cleaning now that the grass is green and you can go outside for more than 1minute with out being a popsicle.

So here is a nicer way to get it all done.  Each night clean for 10 minutes.  Set a timer for this 10 minutes.  Get going on your one space for that 10 minutes.  Say you want to do the kitchen counter.  For 10 minutes you concentrate on only that one thing.  When the timer goes off it is over.  You are done with it for that day.  It makes it seem less overwhelming than just setting out to clean a whole house with no real end in sight.

You can adjust the time or times per day but the idea is to make it less over whelming.  Have the kids help too.  If they have a playroom have them sort old toys from the ones they want to keep.  This way the toys won't get out of hand and you won't feel like you are going crazy by not getting it done.  Older kids can do other jobs like the bathroom, or laundry area.  Have them do the same thing in their room.  While you work on a room in the house they can be doing their room too.

Older kids can be a big help.  They can do their own clothes for example.  So for 10 minutes they go through their closet and decide what they no longer want or what they have grown out of.  They can vacuum and dust so once the rest of their room has been organized they can do that as well.  It will help them learn the rewards of cleaning but not get overwhelmed with the whole thing.

The whole idea here is to get the house clean and organized with out everyone freaking out or getting so overwhelmed that nothing really gets done.  If we get too stressed we will never finish it because we look at it as more of a punishment.  Small step make it rewarding.  Once you get one done it will make you feel good about the accomplishment and be ready to do more

This Evening Was an Event That Can bring Some Stress

So tonight was conferences.  It is a time that can either be exciting or miserable.  Kids worry about grades and what their parents will say if they get a back grade.  Parents worry how their child is doing and if teachers are secretly judging them for these bad grades.

For us it is a combination of both.  My daughter can do really well in school.  The issue is on top of her ADHD she also has seizure disorder.  This leads to a lot of missed days of school.  This then leads to built up assignments and then it is hard to catch up and take the quizzes and tests.  I know this is hard on my daughter and it is hard for me as a parent.  I know she needs to get good grades and be in school but the seizures take a lot out of her.  She once slept for 15 hours after a seizure.

She is doing good in some classes and not so good in others.  I know she can do well but I also know how hard she struggles.  It is like a roller coaster.  She has excelled in classes that she has always struggled in and is doing not so well in classes she has always done well in.

I fear she will be held back which has already happened once when she was younger.  I don't want her to feel bad about herself but it is hard to punish a child who has a legitimate reason for being behind.  It is a real battle.  She gets frustrated and I get frustrated then you really get nowhere.

Do you have a child with medical issues that make school harder?  What do you do to help them with their struggle?  I would really like to hear from other parents on how they cope with these issues.

Good Morning

Good Morning.  How is your morning going?  This morning is going pretty well.  I woke up in a good mood and my daughter got up happy. 

This is not the normal in our home usually there are about 3 taps to the snooze.  Then we go through the whining about not wanting to get up.  Then there is the pretending to get up but not really moving.  Then finally we are out of bed and complaining about everything . My daughter has ADHD so she gets distracted easy.  Then we finally start really getting ready like 20 minutes before we have to leave. 

This is pretty much a daily thing but the last two days we have not done the snooze.  We got up in a good mood and got ready early.  It was nice.  I made sure that we were following schedule and remained calm all morning.  The not arguing about getting ready and waking up nicely has really seemed to help.  Guiding her rather than fighting has made a big difference.

So if you have a stubborn child try working with them instead of fighting them.  They may just surprise you and start working with you also.