How do you get your toddler to clean up their toys???

I want to teach my toddler how to be neat and clean, but it seems to be an uphill battle. He is constantly pulling toys out and leaving them all over the house. How do I get my toddler to learn to pick up his own toys? Do you have any helpful tips on how to keep the toys organized?

I think it's a hopeless fight! Hahah - I let my child pull out toys and do his thing but then, when it's time to clean up, I make a game out of it. We either race to put away the toys as fast as we can or we count them while we drop them into his play box or whatever else. Sometimes that helps him get into putting them away with me. :-)

What about musical toy pick up?  You could have  song that you delegate the toy pick up song.  When you put it on all the toys have to be picked up by the time the song finishes!  Then if he is able to do this he gets a ton of positive reinforcement, or a sticker-some kind of reward for winning the game.

Let me know if anyone tries this!

-Jess

I have a 2 year old daughter & it's a fight to get her to clean but i finally got her to clean after herself by her seeing me clean, she cleans too. I even make a game out of it. For example i tell her i'm gonna put the toys away first & she runs trying to get the toys first before i do. Haha! I hope this works for you.

Those are some good ideas. I like the song idea too! Lately, I've been putting on the timer for 5 minutes and I'll say.."Hey, let's see how many toys we can clean up in 5 minutes". Usually, the whole place is straight by then, but at least he knows there is an end to the clean up time! It is a constant struggle though. Keep those suggestions coming!