The Tetris Way: Teaching Your Kids Organization
A unique way to encourage kids to keep things neat and tidy!
For those of you who are both Tetris fans and parents, you may wonder how the game can be applied to something like organization. Namely, encouraging your kids to complete their chores through the fundamental principles of Tetris. Well, it’s actually easier than you might think!
Growing up, kids often struggle with daily household chores whether that includes keeping their room clean or putting their toys away. It’s easy for them to view these responsibilities as work that’s neither easy nor fun. However, if you compare the task to a game of Tetris, they may be more inclined to try things a little differently.
For example, some children really love playing with Legos. Unfortunately, they can never seem to find the time to put them all back in the box once they’re done. If you’ve ever stepped on a Lego with your bare feet, you know it’s a rather painful experience you’d prefer to avoid. As such, you may find yourself continuously asking your child to put the Legos away when they’re done.
Photo Credit: ©koya979 - stock.adobe.com
With this similarity, you can frame the task of putting Legos away as an alternative game of Tetris, rather than a chore or a job. Compare the bin where the Legos go to the Matrix where Tetriminos fall. Then, explain that the goal of Tetris is to neatly arrange Tetriminos in order to clear lines and earn a high score.
The better these Tetriminos are arranged, the more likely they are to “win” by having the highest score. In regards to how this applies to putting Legos away, the goal you can give your child is to neatly fit all of their Legos back into the box (aka the Matrix) in order to win the game. You can even make it a race and join in on the action, seeing who can put the most Legos away the fastest.
If they see you having fun, they’ll be more open-minded in terms of trying it out themselves.
These “Tetris way” comparisons extend out in all directions from closet organization to doing the dishes. Speaking of doing the dishes, for many children, it can be hard to think of loading and unloading the dishwasher as fun. However, if you compare the various dishes to Tetriminos and the dishwasher itself to a Tetris Matrix, you’ve taken the first step in transforming the task into a brand new game.
How well can you fit the dishes in the dishwasher? How quickly can you unload the dishwasher, and how neatly can you fit the dishes back into the kitchen cabinets? By approaching your kids with a Tetris-style challenge, they’ll find new ways to experience chores rather than automatically viewing them as a drag.
No one enjoys daily household chores growing up, but they nevertheless help shape us into the productive adults we are today. I remember turning everything into a Tetris game growing up, including organizing my closet, and it actually made me want to do more household chores. With every task I finished, I wound up wanting to challenge myself to a new project.
This internal motivation can be a huge boost to a kid’s self-esteem. Instead of feeling like their contributions are menial, they’ll feel like a real life Tetris champ. Furthermore, by thinking outside the box and using your mutual love of Tetris to help transform daily chores into a game, you’ll have an easier time convincing your kids to not only complete the task they’re assigned, but to complete it efficiently.
If all this talk of organization and Tetriminos has put you in the mood for a few rounds of Tetris, click here to play Tetris right on our website!
