This one is for every mother’s delight. You heard right, there is a day specifically designated to cleaning up your room! Once a year, come the 10th of May kids around the world are encouraged to celebrate this date with their parents and, well, clean up their rooms! While it is not a national holiday (although it really should be), it is a great opportunity to introduce chores to your kids, especially when it comes to them keeping their own space tidy.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for kids having a room that is uniquely theirs, that feels like home to them. But at the same time, our kids need to be taught the importance of teamwork, responsibility and even self-respect. Let me explain:

Team work.

Kids need to realise that while their room is their space, it is also an extension of their family home and while they would like their space to be respected, as a family, we would like the cleanliness of their rooms to at least somewhat replicate the state of the rest of the home too. So, as a team, we need to work together to find a balance.

Responsibility.

It’s your room, it’s your stuff, great! But you need to take responsibility for it and appreciate what you have. Leaving things lying around unattended to or mistreated is not taking responsibility for the things you have. Kids (and adults) need to be reminded that they are privileged to have “stuff” and a room even, so to ask them to be responsible for the way their room looks and is treated should be a reasonable request.

Self-respect.

As chilled as your kids might be living and sleeping in their own mess, they need to be raised to realise that they deserve better than that. Cleanliness is not only necessary for health purposes, but to grow and aspire to something you need to be surrounded by positive light, not dirty dishes and soiled clothes (and a cockroach or two).

So, use this day to take a moment to chat to your kids (young and old), and remind them why they need to pull up their sleeves and clean their rooms. If you’re an eager parent, chip in and help them, but it is very important that they learn to take the initiative and keep their nook in the home clean and dust-free.

Please note that there is a difference between a messy and unhygienic room, and a room that is a little chaotic. A little bit of chaos is a good thing and no one expects rooms to be shiny white with crisp bed sheets and flawless walls. Even Albert Einstein himself said:

“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, then what are we to think of an empty desk?”

So, encourage your kids to make their rooms their own, to fill it with their trinkets and passions, making it a place for them to grow into aspiring adults. BUT, remind them that with their space comes ownership which in the real world includes: teamwork, responsibility and self-respect.