Teach Kids Responsibility Through Organization & Chores
As a parent, you have a job to teach your child valuable life lessons. One of these important lessons you must teach your child is how to be more organized. Let’s face it — not all kids are naturally organized (oh how the world would be so much easier if they were!), so it’s your job to help your kid learn good organizational skills. Not only do good organizational skills keep things neat and tidy in your home, but they can also help life feel calmer and more controlled. Rather than picking up after your kids, follow these tips to teach any child to be more self-sufficient and organized!
- Store similar items together. If your child has a collection of similar items, teach her to store all of these items in the same place, such as tiny plastic toys in clear bins and large stuffed animals in mesh bags. Not only will this make the items easier to find, but it will help your kids develop their fine motor skills. Double win!
- Set an example. If you really want to teach your child to be more organized, you yourself have to be organized. Try to refrain from scolding your children for having messy rooms if your bedroom looks like a tornado hit it. Kids will have a harder time getting organized if they have no examples to follow.
- Create a schedule. Creating a daily schedule is a great way to help your children feel organized throughout each day. Every morning, set specific times for activities, like chores, homework and playtime. Explain these times to your children so they understand what is expected of them. When your kids follow their schedules–without complains!–reward them with something small. Slowly, organization will become ingrained and rewards won’t be necessary.
- Be consistent. The only way to truly teach your child organization is by teaching him to be consistent with daily chores and activities. Regardless of time constraints, make sure that your family remains dedicated to their daily tasks and the age-old, “we’ll do it in the morning” excuse doesn't become your family’s motto.
- Daily cleaning. We know how much children love cleaning their rooms, right? Wrong. But it’s still necessary for your kids to take responsibility over their personal property. Help your kids develop this by making them clean their rooms on a daily basis, and taking pride in the work they achieve. Help cleaning be more fun by bring your children to the store and allowing them to pick out their own bins, tubs and bags. Kids like having control just as much as you do!
