Why is it important to teach your child organization skills at a young age?
Children use organization skills for:
Language (to organize thoughts, ideas, communicate with others effectively)
Play
Social Interaction
Personal Management (being able to care for self, ex. Have supplies to brush teeth, keep track of things needed for school/extracurricular activities)
Academic Task Performance (homework, project planning, keeping track of supplies/assignments)
Children who lack organization skills may:
get easily frustrated causing increased stress
may appear less capable academically, when the lack of organizational skills is the true barrier to success
may lose points on assignments they have completed because they lose the assignment, forget to bring it back to school
have more consequences at home and school due to the lack of organization skills
have a lower self-esteem, and feel incompetent relative to peers, when they are just lacking essential skills
Tips for Helping Your Child Get Organized (and stay that way!)
Organization skills need to be modeled by the adults in a child's life. Modeling is different from performing the organizational skill FOR your child. You can show them how, but allow them to attempt the task, explore alternative ways of completing the task, and completing the task with minimal prompts.
Provide your child with clear/consistent instructions for developing effective daily routines.
When creating an effective and efficient organization system at home, it's important to have your child involved. When children are involved, they are more likely to be invested in the system and follow through.
Backpack organization is important as this is the main transport for important information to and from school. CLICK HERE for tips on how to help your child organize their backpack.
Use visual schedules to help your child follow a routine. For example: A chore chart may include one chore your child completes every day of the week for one week, with a box to check off when they complete it. The next week, they may have a different chore. As they get used to consistently completing a chore, you may choose to add more chores. Praise them for completing the chore AND for checking the box when it is complete. A great way to make visual schedules and checklists easy to use is to slide them into a clear sheet protector and attach a dry erase marker so you can wipe it clean at the end of each day! CLICK HERE for a list of age-appropriate chores based on developmental age of a child. Chores that involve sorting and categorizing like putting away dishes, matching socks, folding laundry, and sorting groceries are a great way to teach organization skills.
Use checklists for things your child needs to do on a daily basis. An example may be: A morning checklist may be used to help your child remember all of the things they need to do each day before school (eat breakfast, put dishes in dishwasher, put PJs in the laundry, brush teeth, wash face, get dressed, put lunch and folder in backpack, and put jacket and shoes on.) If a child has a checklist to refer to for different aspects of their day, eventually those things become habits.
Designate a specific "Homework" space at your home. This may be a cushion on the floor in a bedroom with a clipboard and supplies, or it may be a place at the kitchen table or a desk. "Homework" area should be away from technology (no tech zone), away from distractions (siblings, toys), and it should be quiet and well-lit. ***Note: at the elementary level, this may be a comfy place to read, as most elementary students have at least 20 minutes of reading to do each night.
Create a "Homework Supply Kit". This can be as simple as a gallon zip-lock bag, a shoe box, or a basket or bin. When all supplies are in one designated place. It's a lot more efficient to get work done. Examples of what may be in the "Homework Supply Kit" include: crayons, pencils, paper, ruler, scissors, glue stick, bookmark, erasers, pencil sharpener, post-it notes, highlighters, markers or colored pencils. **Be sure to respect your child's "Homework Supply Kit" and don't use these items for family needs.
You and your child can use boxes, bins, baskets or crates to sort and organize toys, craft supplies, stuffed animals, etc. Use post-it notes (and tape-so they don't fall off) to label what goes in each container. This is a great way to organize your child's room so when it's time to "clean your room", they know exactly where things go. You can do the same with drawers on a dresser, shelves in a closet or clean vs dirty laundry baskets.
Cook with your child. Cooking helps children with many organizational skills, sequencing, measuring, sorting ingredients, following directions and managing time. This is a fun way to build organizational skills. Have your child help you get a shopping list together for meal planning. This also helps build these skills.
Once your spaces in your home are organized ("Homework" space, "Homework Supply Kit", bedroom, toys, clothes, etc.), take photos to post near that area. This will provide a visual representation for your child of what "neat or clean" looks like.
Schedule a weekly: "Blitz Clean Up Party". Make a fun, upbeat playlist of music with your child that you'll play on your phone or speakers during clean up time. Set a time for 30 minutes and have everyone in the family use that time to clean up an area of the house while listening to fun music. Afterward, celebrate with your family's favorite meal, pizza night or create your own baked potato bar. Make cleaning up fun. You can do a similar activity for 10 minutes after dinner to clean up dishes, wipe counters, put away condiments, etc.
Help your child to develop some kind of collection for a hobby. Examples include: rocks, stamps, coins, Pokemon cards, baseball cards, etc. This lends itself to developing sorting, resorting, categorizing items, which all help with organizational skills.
