Most of their focus shifts to the food crumbs, dirty dishes, and used napkins on the table. It can be very difficult for them to focus on their homework with the disgusting mess surrounding them. Lack of focus can lead to slow learning in little ones. Third, clutter makes it hard for them to relax.
Mess Equals Stress
That saves time and a whole lot of hassle. In one study, women who saw their homes as cluttered had high levels of the stress hormone cortisol throughout the day, while those who described their abode as a well-organized, restful space had lower levels.
She says that a cluttered space can have a real impact on a child's wellbeing. "Clutter causes confusion, accidents, paralyzes children from making decisions, and creates anger and temper tantrums. Clutter is too hard to process.
(Anyone with children will know that feeling!) Research has also shown that living in a messy space has a strong correlation to feeling depressed and anxious as well.
It can even cause infections. It is a common misconception that the only way to feel sick from living in a dirty house is to have an asthma attack. Dirty homes cause many other health problems, such as respiratory illnesses, skin conditions, and even developmental delays for children.
A Dirty Home Is Anxious Child
The first is clutter fills up your child's brain with a ton of stimuli from the external world which leads to their mind working extra hard to process the information it is receiving. Second, clutter distracts them from the things that really matter.
Psychological Effects—Children who grew up in toxic families are more likely to have cognitive issues such as problems with memory, attention, and inhibition. They may be more susceptible to depression, anxiety, and other disorders. A higher chance of antisocial traits is seen.
Maybe a messy space isn't such a bad thing. Many experts believe a kid's room should be their sanctuary. Consider agreeing on a few ground rules—like laundry goes in the hamper, and dirty plates and food packaging get brought to the kitchen promptly—and then let your kid be.
This frustrates parents, who can't understand why these kids have so much trouble cleaning their room. The problem is that children with ADHD struggle with executive functioning skills, which enable us to plan, prioritize, manage our time and get things done.
In most cases, this clutter is directly linked to traumatic events. Clutter could stem from the fear of letting go. This would be especially the case if a person grew up during or shortly after a time of war when people did not have much and had to use everything they had until it fell apart.
“It's stressful to be in a cluttered environment,” says Woody. According to Psychology Today, clutter causes stress in part because of its excessive visual stimuli. It also signals to our brains that our work is never done and creates guilt, anxiety and the feeling of being overwhelmed.
Sure, we all have different tolerance levels for the amount of stuff in our environment. But too much clutter, whatever that means to you, can create confusion, especially for ADHD Adults.
A messy home, however, is a cluttered home meaning that you have a living room floor covered in toys or a coffee table constantly covered in paperwork.
In fact, it is part of a growing body of research showing that clutter can contribute to stress, increased cortisol levels, and depression. Among teens and adolescents who live in clutter, the disorganized home environment is associated with lower academic performance and behavioral problems.
If you don't dust or vacuum, your home will turn into an allergy festival. Pollen will gather in all the nooks in your home, pet hair will lie in wait, and dust mites will come out in force. All the things that make your eyes water and your nose run will be sitting around your home making your allergies worse.
Choose a paint color that is calming, like soft blues, greens, and purples. Or create a sense of relaxation with a wall color in a warm neutral, like beige and taupe. Bright, bold colors may be overstimulating for your child's sensory system, so opt for a muted shade instead as the main color of their room.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can make it seem impossible to keep a tidy house. As a result, ADHDers might have messy and unorganized homes and find that the usual tips and tricks don't work for them.
As you've seen, living spaces can become extremely cluttered when a person has trouble parting with his or her favorite “stuff.” It's also very common for people with autism to become extremely distressed if others rearrange or throw away their items.
With most typical children who refuse to clean their rooms, it comes down to this: they don't want to. They'd rather be doing something else, like using electronics or texting their friends. Some kids get so immersed in a particular activity that it's all they want to do.
“My rule of thumb is, you let kids be responsible for their own rooms when you know they can do the job, because you've taught them how to do the job,” she says. If they can make a bed, put away clothes and pick up toys, you can hand over room responsibility (usually around age seven).
2-3 years old: Preschoolers and older children
As they get older, you can start to give them more responsibilities when it comes to tidying up and they can do more of it on their own. Remember to keep the amount of toys out at one time to a minimum though!
Emotional dysregulation, explosive shows of anger, and disappointment are harmful to adult children. Toxic parents are selfish. Parents who think more about what benefits them and not their children are toxic. These parents are not thinking of the benefits to their adult children and what is important to them.
Toxic mothers cannot recognize the impacts of their behavior, and children grow up feeling unloved, overlooked, or disrespected. As adults, they may struggle with anxiety, depression, unhealthy coping skills, and relationship problems.