Children: How to help them get organised?
Do you need to organize your everyday life? If you haven't done so, click here to receive advice from other organized parents. And don't forget to download the free app Coorganiz, to easily share your calendar, useful documents and the important things to do.
Now is the time to help our children to become organised!
Our advice and tips to help your children become more independent and organised when it comes to homework, activities and a smooth start to the day.
We are well and truly back in the swing of things and our article about mothering burnout is beginning to make a lot of sense… The school timetables are now set in stone, the parent-teacher introductory meetings are behind you and the extra-curricular activities have begun.
More independence for them equals less of the mental load for you: win/win!
Here is some advice from organised parents that we have compiled to help you get your own kids organised.
Routine rules!
In contrast to an adult relationship, children love routines. Take advantage of this to organise some rituals that will benefit every member of the family.
Marie, a home organisational coach, specialises in tidying:
“Before going to bed, look at what is on the agenda for tomorrow. Choose the outfits. Put on a song and tidy the room in 3 minutes. Then read a story and off to bed! We take turns with my partner so that each child has some one-on-one time with each parent. I also put the laundry basket next to the bath: when they get undressed, the dirty clothes go into the wash. I have taught them to sort the clean things from the dirty things. Well, it doesn’t prevent some extra loads involving jumpers that didn’t need a wash, but they are becoming more independent.”
Schoolwork:
Help! My child has started primary school and now has homework to do… and needs some encouraging too! Getting organised about schoolwork is all about forward planning! Your time at the office has taught you a little something about that.
Denise, an occupational therapist, tells us:
“With your child, take a look at the homework for the whole week, not just for the next day and get him or her used to looking ahead. Get your child to read the homework aloud as soon as s/he can read. It’s not up to your or the babysitter to do the homework – it’s up to your child, who get the homework from school. Give your child 10 minutes to learn lessons and come back when the time is up or you are called to be told that the work is done! When the homework is done, pack the bag again for the next day, including whatever snacks/sports things are required. The best idea is to always leave the schoolbag near the door, so that nobody has to look for it in the morning. Congratulate your child on completing the homework and suggest some more relaxing activities, preferably ones that don’t involve a screen: playing in the bath, a board game, a run around the garden (if you have one). Above all, don’t return to the question of the homework, even if it has been a catastrophic or conflictual session. At worst, quickly go over the poetry on the way to school in the morning. Little by little, the routine will become established and you won’t have to check the results any more. Don’t hesitate to raise the subject with your childminder or babysitter about how you want the homework handled when you are not there, so that the routine is correctly established.”
Screens:
There is a wide variety of advice available on this subject… In addition to our article about screens, we recommend autonomy once again, using an app such as Pistache that regulates each user’s screen time and makes them more independent.
Savine is old school about this:
“They get 30 minutes of cartoons after bath time. That makes one episode and they know how to switch it on. No negotiations, no punishments: for me it’s the same as a book or a board game. That means that I don’t switch on TV channels where the programmes never end, but instead they watch a series. They love watching the same episodes over again anyway!”
Breakfast:
Disaster! They are being deliberately slow! Discover some good tips for saving time in the morning!
To get the whole family into the same rhythm, don’t forget to put all the timetables into the Coorganiz app: your partner, childminder, babysitter or mother: everyone knows what they have to do!
Who gets to do homework with the children this evening?
Sweet, it’s not you this evening, which is a good thing because you hate maths!
Other tips? Some more advice?
SAVE TIME: SHARE ALL INFORMATION ONCE AND FOR ALL!
