Some kids are born organised, many are not. Here are some tips to help your child learn how to be a bit more organised. It will help both of you!
- Start as young as you can. Starting at around the age of three will set your child up for a much more organised life, even if their personality doesn’t particularly support it. You’ll be doing them a big favour in the long run. Even if you’ve missed that age, however, it’s never too late to start!
- Set up routines. Have morning routines, after school routines and evening routines. Ensure they have a visual reminder (a checklist or chart) to remind them what their tasks are.
- Be consistent. The best way to develop new habits is to do them at the same time, every day, and preferably in the same order. You’ll need to put in some hard yards with constant reminders initially, but eventually they’ll be doing their routines without reminders. It’s worth the work involved.
- Don’t do it for them. If you’re finding you’re reminding them, doing things for them when they forget, or re-doing their jobs – you’re enabling disorganisation. They can’t learn new habits unless they actually undertake the tasks. Let them learn the consequences of forgetting their lunch, or not putting their dirty clothes in the hamper. Let them also learn the satisfaction of doing the job themselves, without it being corrected.
- Set up their space to support them. Ensure they don’t have too many belongings for their space, and make sure all their possessions have a home. It will make it a lot easier for them to maintain an organised space that way.
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