8 Ways to Help Your Child Get Organized
I am very excited to share a guest post by Johanna Cider, who is an avid freelance writer based in Wellington, New Zealand.
Keeping the kids organized isn’t as impossible as it sounds. With the following tips and tricks up your sleeve, you’ll have the most organized kids on the block. And all without an ounce of nagging!
- To-do lists
To-do lists are a great way for people of all ages and stages to keep organized. Kids just need teaching how to make them. Invest in colourful paper and some fun stickers to get them on board, and help your kids to create a daily or weekly checklist.
- Incentivized cleaning
For kids, the weekly half-hour or so reserved for cleaning their bedroom is an event to avoid at all costs. To remedy this, follow up the scheduled bedroom clean with a fun activity. Whether it’s a trip to the movies or an ice-cream from the corner shop, your child’s bedroom will have never been so spick and span.
- Night-time prep
Most parents know – and dread – the morning rush. Try to avoid stress by informing your child of the night-time steps they can take to get themselves ready for the next day. Make a fun poster listing tasks such as preparing their lunch, laying out their uniform, and packing their schoolbag. In the best-case scenario, this series of steps will eventually become a relaxing bedtime routine in itself.
4. Positivity
Try your best to be gentle and encouraging when you give instructions about being organized. If you keep your tone positive and your directions clear, your child will be much more likely to follow what you say.
5. Master calendar
To learn how the family works as one unit, kids need to see their activities and tasks contextualized. That’s why keeping a master or family calendar is such a great idea. Put this calendar where everyone can see it (in the kitchen, for example), and ensure your kids know to add any new events or activities that pop up.
Johanna Cider enjoys exploring new interests (and rediscovering old ones!) through writing. Johanna loves collecting gel pens, notebooks, and many other kinds of cute stationery! She would love to hear from you – please visit her personal blog, Musings of Johanna, to get in touch.