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Most parents struggle with getting their child to tidy up, it is one area we often give up on as it is easier and faster to just do it yourself. We have 15 tips on how to change habits and get your child to do some house cleaning.

A child's attention span is quite short and the wreckage of toys they can leave after play is continuous. Introduce tidy habits early on, by making use of small children's love for helping out or doing everything you do. If you do it yourself it will probably take less time, but you will not make tidiness part of your child's normal behaviour. Pick and choose from our suggestions, to what suits you and your family the best.

1. Start early, there is no reason why even a one or two year old could not help out when you are cleaning up their toys. From age three and up, get them to clean up more independently.
2. Schedule cleaning bursts before activities they like, such as their favourite TV programme or reading time.
3. See time cleaning up together as an opportunity to interact with your child and don't present it as a chore everyone dislikes. Make it fun by turning it into a race with a timer or use a rewards chart.
4. If your child spills food or drink, make sure he takes the time to clean up. Do not just berate and clean up the mess yourself.
5. Have good and ample storage in the rooms your child plays in. It does not have to be plastic or ugly, invest in something that is not an eyesore. The trick is to buy storage where toys quickly can be put away, out of sight.
6. All storage, such as clothes hooks, boxes or shelves, should be accessible to your child and adapted for his height. Let everything have it's place.
7. Have set and forewarned consequences if the cleaning is not done. Either confiscate the toys for some time or bin them. You can ask your child to tell you when the cleaning is done, and warn that anything out of place will be confiscated.
8. Most children have too many toys. Give away toys they grown out of. Divide up their toys and leave some in storage, you can swap them in a few months time. That way it will be like getting new toys..
9. Help the cleaning up by sweeping everything on the floor into one place. That way they can pick everything up in one spot.
10. Teach your child that once he is finished with one toy and wants another, he needs to put the first one away.
11. Have a shoebox of miscellaneous bits of toys that you might not know where they go, such as puzzles bits, Lego or doll's shoes. Your child can check the box if something is missing.
12. Let your child be help out and give his opinion when decorating his bedroom. He will feel more responsibility towards it.
13. Older children should have set chores to do on specific days or every day. Make sure to monitor them and decide on consequences if they are not made. Housework is for everyone in the family.
14. Do not divide up chores by gender. Future daughter-in-laws will not thank you for a messy husband.
15. Most important of all...do not expect perfection! It is not about getting them to do the full job, but to make cleaning up a habit.

As parents our time is precious and we just want the cleaning jobs done, fast and painless, so we can get on with the things we enjoy. But teaching your child to tidy up and accept house cleaning as part of routine, will pay of later on.

It is important to encourage your child and praise their cleaning efforts, but also make it a habit of your normal family life. Whether your mother did everything at home or made you help out, it is important that all members of a family pull together.

Do not become your child's slave, learning how to clean is a normal part of any person's development and is often an issue in most adult relationships. Children thrive on messy play, but cleaning up after should be just as natural.