Being organized is crucial for everyone, not only for kids. Organizational skills benefit a person throughout their life. Talking of kids, loosely talking, they are the most disorganized set of people. Therefore, as parents, it is even more important for you to instill a sense of organizational skills in kids and teach them the importance of developing good organizational skills in their life.
Being organized is a key ingredient for success in school and life. It benefits kids in the long run. However, getting your kids organized seems to be a hefty task. Because most of the kids are disorganized and often do things like wait until the last minute to start working on projects, forget to complete or submit assignments in time, study for tests at the end minute, etc.
Children lacking organizational skills face a difficult time keeping up when they are busy with academics and several projects, activities in school and after school. Besides, disorganized children struggle to complete tasks on time, forget to bring home study material, and have a messy backpack with crumpled assignments and tests, school announcements from two months ago, a missing house key perhaps, etc.
This states the importance of organizational skills for students and why parents and caregivers must teach their children how to plan things and stay organized in a breeze.
Developing a proper organizational system will make life easier for children with learning and thinking differences. The ones lacking this system can get affected in storing and retrieving information for learning. Math, in particular, can be hard to learn for children with weak organizational skills. So, parents and guides can make efforts in the beginning by putting routines and systems in place with fun to help your children become more organized.
Your organized child will be able to maintain a sort of order and structure in their lives and be benefitted in the following ways:
- Putting less time in completing assignments
- Experience less frustration while working
- Able to plan for the future
- Experience less overall stress and pressure
- Perform better in academics and other activities.
As mentioned above, parents and teachers can put routines and tasks with fun for their kids to instill organizational skills in them and keep them focused. BaaBee TV has come to your rescue with some great tips and ideas on how to develop/improve organizational skills in kids.
Place a family calendar and this will be a helpful visual aide for kids. Using the calendar, remind them of any appointments, activities, or assignments coming due. Discuss with your family their obligations for the upcoming week. It will encourage your kids to write down their important tasks on the calendar.
Also, help them estimate how much time each task will take. Your kids will start taking ownership and responsibility for meeting their commitments.
A planner is an exciting and must-have organizational tool to help your kids create a regular schedule and learn what to expect throughout the day. Encourage your child to write down due dates, assignment and projects dates, and other important information in their planner. Ask them to keep checking their planner throughout the day to know they are following their obligations.
It will show them that their time is valuable and the organization part is something worth celebrating. You can use picture schedules and other time management strategies as well.
Also Read: Types of Parenting Styles and Their Effects On Child Development
Get your children to maintain to-do lists to keep track of chores and activities that need to be done. It is a great way to teach them how to plan things and prioritize time. Also, encourage your kids to keep the list in a place that is often visible to them and where they can check off accomplishments as they go. Crossing completed tasks off the list will also develop a sense of accomplishment in them.
Encourage your child to do regular backpack audits and organize school paperwork. Kids must keep their backpacks neat as paper handouts and worksheets from school. You may help them to organize their worksheets and assignments in folders/or binders.
Give them chores to do that involve sorting, categorizing, pre-planning, making lists, or arranging things. Grocery shopping, cleaning out a closet, sorting photos, sorting socks or shoes, emptying the dishwasher, and other tasks are great choices for the same. In comparison to elders who tend to recall things by a group of categories, children need to learn them first.
Planning things the night before for the next day is an important aspect of being organized. Your kids should learn how to think and plan. Preparing in advance with plentiful time greatly reduces the stress and anxiety of putting things off until the last minute, and cuts down on morning confusion. Before bedtime, get your child into the habit of packing their backpacks and laying out clothes for the next day.
You might prefer teaching your child to break down large projects and tasks into smaller steps to make them more manageable for them. Ask them to write down the steps of any project or activity so they can easily plan how to complete the task. This way, they will learn that each project has a beginning, middle, and end making projects less stressful.
Kids should have a fixed time every day for studies and homework. This keeps them in a routine and habit of studying and doing homework on time. You can work with your kids to determine a suitable time for them. Usually, kids prefer to take some time to unwind right after school and not to study.
Keeping your children organized for studies includes a pertinent aspect of setting a designated and organized study space for them with easy access to all the study material and stationery close at hand. There, they can study or do homework with less or no distractions. The study space should not be their bedroom and near a parent as children get distracted very easily. This will allow you to monitor their progress and encourage good study habits and your kids to have your assistance when they require it.
Demotivating or scolding/abusing your kid for failing at completing tasks or struggling with developing some skills is the wrong approach to have them learn anything. For sure, being organized for kids is a hefty task.
Though, kids respond well to praise. You may praise them when they do something correctly and they shall start developing organizational skills. And even if they do not and struggle with the same, support and motivate them as they will require positive encouragement to remain determined and motivated.
Also Read: 10 Best Child Engagement Activities At Home
Every child is somewhere disorganized. So hurry before it’s too late and start helping your kids develop good organizational skills with fun and easy ways mentioned above. Also, visit to know other interesting activities and tips on parenting and how to nurture your kids’ growth and development with fun.
Originally published at https://www.baabeetv.com.
