People
who have not learned organizational skills as children
have trouble keeping up later in life—in
school, at home and at the office. Organization is not
part of birth—it is learned and should be taught
as soon as possible.
Teaching children
how to become and remain organized at home will help them
do well in school. When
children learn to conquer their home environment, they
are ready to conquer school and the outside world, too.
Children
who learn time management and organizational skills from
their parents tend to do better once the youngsters begin
school. One sign of low self-esteem in adults
and children is clutter. You
have to care about yourself to make a change in your life,
and you can help create confidence through organization.
Kids
need rules and routines. Whether they
like rules or not, knowing and seeing them consistently
enforced creates a secure atmosphere. Routines
reduce the frustration that comes with having to nag children.
And they create more time for fun and togetherness. Children
get quickly frustrated when they cannot find the things
they want.
Take
a child’s perspective.
Look at your children’s space,
storage, furniture and belongings from their vantage point.
Start at the floor level when placing hooks, pegs
and cubbyholes.
Create
fun.
Turn chores into games where
possible and liven up activities up with music.
Label
everything.
Use labels based on your children’s ability to comprehend.
You can use graphics from your computer or actual
photographs on the outside of containers. Or
let your children draw their own labels to get them involved.
Color-coding also works
well.
Purge
constantly.
Since children are always outgrowing their clothes and
toys, it is important to clean out every year. For
children who fight giving up their toys, include them
when taking items to a needy family. It
is never too early to teach children about giving to others.
Develop
routines.
Create a morning or evening
pick-up routine, based on your child’s best time
of day. Just as you hate cleaning up to
have yet another mess the following day, your child feels
similar frustrations.
Make
a deal with yourself and your child to create a more organized
environment and you will enjoy the benefits of having
a more organized home and child—less stress, less
frustration and more quality time.
Kristin
White
del
Rosso,
President
of
Pea
Organizing
Services,
Inc.
is
a
professional
organizing
consultant,
who
has
been
awarded
designation
as
the
first
to
be
OMI-Certified
in
the
area
of
professional
organizing
in
North
and
South
Carolina.
She
is
a
member
of
the
NAPO
Golden
Circle,
a
Certified
Member
of
the
International
Association
of
Professional
Organizers
(IAPO)
and
a
Certified
Productivity
Trainer
and
Authorized
Consultant
(PTAC™)
from
the
Hemphill
Productivity
Institute.
She
has
also
earned
a
Certificate
of
Study
in
Basic
Attention
Deficit
Disorder
(ADD)
Issues,
a
Certificate
of
Study
in
Chronic
Disorganization,
and
a
Certificate
of
Study
in
Learning
Styles
and
Modalities
from
the
National
Study
Group
of
Chronic
Disorganization
(NSGCD).