Toys strewn across the floor, table and bed in disarray, books and pencils missing…does this scene remind you of your house? Where there are children in the house, this might be a common occurrence. Children are generally not considered to be the most organised bunch. But the good news is, it does not always have to be this way.
In this article, we show you 10 ideas you can incorporate into your daily nurturing to help your child be more organised!
Introduce Checklists
One of the basic foundations of organising is the trusty old checklist system. Introduce the idea of checklists to your little one and help them navigate and strategize their tasks in a more efficient way. The checklists can be something as simple as “5 things to do before bedtime” or “3 chores for the weekend”. This checklist can be in the form of paper, an app on their smartphone or even a chalkboard/ whiteboard placed in their room.
Break Tasks into Smaller Chunks
Organising involves the execution of various tasks. But for children one major task may even look insurmountable. It is always best to break tasks down into smaller segments or sub tasks and let them execute it one by one so that the load feels lighter. This would also enable them to learn more about how to manage and execute different tasks.
Daily Routines
Setting a daily routine is an integral part of inculcating the habit of organising in your child. You can designate specific times of the day or set time limits as the case may be in all matters such as dinner time, play time, bedtime, screen time, etc. which would go a long way in helping your child understand the value and importance of following routines.
Organize Schoolwork And Homework
In relation to establishing a daily routine, one of the most important organisation schedules to be set is a specific study time. Having a specific time for studying and homework has dual benefits – one, it helps in giving due importance to studying with no other distractions at the said time and two, it helps your child manage other tasks equally well.
Time Management
Establishing a routine and scheduling times for different activities throughout the day is one of the best ways in teaching your child the importance of time management. However, time management is a broad concept which essentially consists of three tasks – planning, prioritizing and estimating the time required. In addition to time for tasks and studies, it is also important to teach your children how to manage their free time as well.
Here is a detailed article to introduce time management in Kids.
Regular School Bag Checks
Encourage your child to empty out and clean their school bags at regular intervals, say once a week. Having a regular audit of your children’s school backpacks by themselves as well as yourself would help keep track of any forgotten items or projects, while at the same time establishing a routine cleanup of the bag.
Organisers & Containers
The best way to keep their toys, books and other items in a neat and tidy manner would be to segregate and store them in designated organisers and containers. This way the child can know that there is a right place for everything and that he/she need not spend hours searching for a particular item.
Planners & Planning Ahead
Another important item to inculcate your child with is the need to have specific plans for everything. A project due? Start planning ahead by dissecting the plan to smaller tasks up until the day of submission so that they won’t lose track of time. In such cases the best device to use would be a planner book or an app which provides a comprehensive idea of the whole planning process.
Colour Coding
An easy way to teach your child organising would be to incorporate colour coding schemes. Allotting a particular colour for a particular subject and following it throughout saves plenty of time and effort as well as helps your child in learning a new form of organising based on colour.
Cultivate an Interest in Collections
Organisation is not just about chores, duties or tasks. Cultivating healthy hobbies also falls under the purview of helping your child get more organised. Encourage them to take up the hobby of collecting be it stamps, old coins or even different types of leaves, which would help them learn more about collecting and organizing.
These are just a few examples to teach your child to become organised in life. It is very important that you cultivate the habit of organising in your child at a very early age. Getting organized will make life easier for kids. Equip them with life skills like these so that they can be the best version of themselves growing up!