Jacket on! / Jacket off!

I'm certain all parents struggle with getting their children to pick up their coats/shoes/hats/socks/toys/what have you. In our household, it's fairly typical day when I'm asking my kids to pick up their _______ [coats/shoes/hats/socks/toys].

My five-year-old daughter has become very good at cleaning up and helping. In fact, she gets very excited about getting to help. (Oh, how I wish I had her enthusiasm for cleaning.) My son, on the other hand, does not share his sister's motivation for tidiness, nor does he even have such desire. I understand this is partly due to maturity, partly due to gender, and partly due to temperament.

A few nights ago, I was griping on my facebook status that I was sick and tired of picking up all the extraneous kid objects strewn from front door to back door, upstairs to downstairs. I remember having a similar gripe not long after watching the Karate Kid (the new Jackie Chan version) and wanting to have my son do a similar task - "Jacket on! Jacket off!" 



So, the next day when we came home from school, I ventured to do JUST that. Sophia thought it was a new game ("Mom, I love the new game!"). But she got bored and went to go play. Aidan, the target of this lesson, was not thrilled to stay and play. But I think he eventually learned his lesson. Only time will tell.