Laundry and the Boy

M laughed when he read this. 

He thinks it is so silly to be given such a present. Presents should be toys. Something fun. 

Of course he thinks so. 

Like the kid, my boy just dumps his dirty clothes on the floor, bed or sofa, 5 out of 10 times, despite being told repeatedly to place them in the laundry basket. 

But this mum no longer picks up the clothes from where he has left them and returns them to the drawers magically in a clean, neat pile a few days later. 

This mum nags, when she isn't too tired. 

Sometimes when she is too beat to nag, threats to throw the clothes into the rubbish chute if they aren't picked up within the next 5 min may be uttered. This would usually be followed swiftly by the next threat of never buying new clothes for him again, so if he runs out of clothes, he would have to be naked. 

For now, this tactic has worked.

But it is only a short-term solution. I must be more creative in instilling the sense of responsibility.