Many parents wonder how to effectively get their children to clean up the toys and clothes strewn across the bedroom floor or how to make sure their children can find their homework in the black hole they call a backpack. The answer is organization. You will need sustained effort and consistency to teach your children organizational skills, but the end result will be worth it. Being organized will help your children feel competent and efficient and lead to independence and confidence, according to the Nemours Foundation. In turn, they will become independent, confident adults, which is the ultimate goal for any parent.
Step 1
Start early. If your children are still young, begin now to teach them how to be organized. Use baskets, bins and shelves in their bedroom and closets to store books, art supplies, toy cars or action figures. Teach them to toss dirty clothes in the hamper and to make their beds, or at least pull up the covers. Make a game of it--basketball for dirty clothes or racing to see who can put their toys away first.
Step 2
Use the “one-toy-in, one-toy-out” rule. Nothing is more overwhelming for children than being faced with a roomful of toys to clean up. Often, they won’t know where to start, and the task may drag on for hours. You can help your children be organized by teaching them to put one toy away before they take another out to play.
Step 3
Set a good example. Children learn by watching, and if, for instance, they continually see the kitchen counter piled high with old mail, stray books, and various other day-to-day items that get laid down and never put away, there is no reason to expect their backpacks or desks to look any different once they are in school. Make the effort to be organized yourself, and it will pay dividends with your kids.
Step 4
Lose the clutter. Yes, the kitchen counter, but also the old newspapers and magazines, clothes you don’t wear, appliances you don’t need. You can help your kids be organized the same way. Let them choose old toys to donate before new ones are expected at birthdays and holidays so toy boxes and closets don’t get overrun. Similarly, let your kids help you pack a box of outgrown clothes to send to a cousin or take to the thrift store.
Step 5
Get into the calendar and checklist habit. Time management is as much a part of organization as keeping a room tidy. Time management expert Renee King suggests a “check-in” station with a planner or calendar where children can see what’s coming up tomorrow and the rest of the week. As the children get older, encourage them to write their own activities on the calendar; for example, band practice or work schedules. Similarly, encouraging the use of “to-do” lists that can be checked off one item at a time will give your children a sense of accomplishment as well as prepare them for middle school, when they will have to keep track of homework assignments.
Tips and Warnings
- Encourage organization, but don’t be militant about it. Being organized doesn’t have to be a chore. Be consistent in your example--you may be surprised at the organizational skills your children will pick up.
Things You'll Need
- Baskets, bins and tubs
- Hamper
- Calendar or planner
- Pen and paper for checklists
