Teach your child organizational skills | tips and tricks
You used to see your child’s room messy; no time management skills and the tasks are not well defined!
No need to worry, only a very limited number of children are naturally organized while the majority need to learn it and practice it with your support.
What to do then?
Let us go through some tips and tricks to help you understand how you can teach your child organizational skills.
Your child sees it differently!
They see no problem at all in being messy, unorganized, or haphazard. They are prone to disorder, playing, and random lifestyles. A child wants to sleep, eat and play anytime anywhere.
To change this natural behavior, you need to highlight that this is abnormal. You should remind your child from time to time that organization should be an integral part of life explaining its importance for his future and how positively the impact will be on the character.
Dialogue is the best way to communicate the message. Sit at the table in a friendly atmosphere, keep eye contact. Your child will understand.
The key message is: organization is a permanent lifestyle.
Everything starts with you!
You are the role model. Your child follows your steps and shadows everything you do. Keep your room and office tidy and clean, let the child sees you while you do the work yourself.
Keep a notebook with a to-do list and work with a checklist, your child will be curious to know what you do and will be more likely to imitate.
Be part of the journey
Your participation is crucial to the success of the process. When you ask the child to make up the bedroom or clean it, assign yourself part of the work. “I will make up the bed and you clean up your desk”. You can also say “I will make up the whole room today and you make it tomorrow, watch me”
A great motivation for the child is to see you do the job yourself, we already mentioned that you are his ultimate role model.
Distribute the tasks and make them fun
In case that your child has brothers and sisters, distribute the tasks, if not then the father and yourself are enough, if inapplicable – it is between you both. Make a teamwork concept.
Children will see it as fun, keep the atmosphere joyful and funny. Indulge the competition “who will finish first?” set a timer and hand the winner a good gift, play some music during the activity. Use the counting technique “start in one, two, three” use a whistle! Improvise!
Playing is always a key to the hearts and the minds of the children.
Start it simple
Brushing the teeth, washing your own dish can be a very good start. The simplest task is easy to accomplish.
Step by step introduces more complicated tasks, the child will accept them.
Make it a routine
Help your child to make organizational skills and time management a daily routine. Stress on the fact needs maintenance not to be a lifestyle.
Prepare a daily schedule hanging on the wall in a clear location. Urge the child to update it. Divide the task list into three sections, urgent, short-term tasks, and long-term activities. Make your child familiar with this basic time management ritual to apply in his life later on.
It is also part of the 7 habits of the highly effective people initiated by Steven Covey. Rowad Alkhaleej International Schools deploy this concept in the “Leader in Me” initiative to prepare the students for the future.
It is also notable to introduce your child to the concept of “time” and buy a decent watch and explain how to use it. In this phase you can also talk about the idea of “the deadline”, your child should learn that tasks are usually time-bound and adherence to it is one of the most important factors of a successful life. A good example to illustrate this is homework.
Set rules
Parents have to set rules, your child expects it from you. “Do not eat on the sofa!”, “It is time for bed” “you have four hours per day for video gaming”- all these instructions are necessary to teach your child to be organized, time management, and following the rules.
In real life, there are some violations expected but make sure that you have your rules in place.
It is the child responsibility as well
This is a fact that you should always remind yourself of and explain to your child. He is in charge of the room, the desk, the homework, the time…etc. Let your child understand that “this is your life and you are responsible for making it successful”. Use a gentle tone of voice children are fond of the idea of “they are adults”. State it as a fact “you are a grown-up now”
As part of being responsible, share your own tasks with the child. Another good trick to emphasize the fact that “you are grown-up” is to share your own daily task with the child. Ask for input “what we should do first?” “Could you write down the grocery list with me?”. Sharing is magic.
The benefits
The organized child is confident. Order decreases the stress levels and makes your child enjoys the moment to the fullest. The child will not feel never feel guilty because everything is in its place. so you need to teach your child to be organized.
The school is essential to the journey
The school is crucial to your success with your child. It is an institution that possesses the human and the professional aspects needed to complete your task at home.
A timetable, homework, uniform, and a school lineup are contributing to your work with the child. Professional teachers are also a great part of the communication process. Talk to them and explain what you do, ask them to recap at school. Align is important.
In Roawd Alkhaleej International Schools we believe in discipline and order. We believed that communication with the parents is important to our success.