Keeping Your Kids Organized -- At All Ages
Rita Emmett gives 14 tips on how to teach your children to be organized and keep them from falling into the traps of procrastination.
By RITA EMMETT
Pick and choose the ideas that will work with you and your family.
1. Assign a place where books, homework and backpacks go. If you don't designate a place, backpacks and stuff will be dropped all over the house. KA-BOOM -- you've got clutter!
2. Assign a place for jackets, coats, scarves, gloves, boots and shoes to go. Maybe put up hooks on the wall (low enough to the little ones can reach). Maybe a bookcase with assigned shelves for each child. Or maybe laundry baskets. Label the baskets or shelves with each child's name or write "shoes here," "sports gear here."
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3. Make it part of the bedtime routine to check if all books, homework, backpacks (maybe even clothes) are in place, ready for the next day.
4. Hang a big calendar where everyone can see all the family activities. Consider color coding the activities. Brynn is green, Noah is red. Include due dates for BIG school projects and reports.
5. Use the color code system not only for the calendar but any place you need to. Paint Brynn's shelf green; find a red basket for Noah. If you have several children, color code their sheets, towels, everything.
6. Hang a big bulletin board by the door. EVERYTHING that kids need to be signed, referred to or returned goes on the bulletin board.
7. OR for each child, hang a basket, envelope or some receptacle to "capture" notes, invitations and newsletters from school & extra activities. Color code them.
8. OR set up a file system. Assign each child a file. All important notices and announcements from school and outside activities (even party invitations) get filed. Then when you need information, dates, addresses, they will all be in one place. You can even color code the files.
9. If children want to do their homework in an unorthodox or weird style (that means different from how their parents did things) such as working with the TV on or loud music playing, then make a deal.
"You can do your homework this way AS LONG AS your homework is complete, done well and handed in on time. If you don't keep your end of the deal, then you do homework my way." Your way might be at his desk, in his room, in silence, no distractions or whatever you determine. This gives your child the power to control how homework will be done; he decides.
10. Try to set up a system that every Friday they empty out backpacks. Even if you skip doing it half the time, at least it will keep you from finding a message in May that it's your turn to send cookies for the Halloween party seven months ago.
