Comments on: Teaching time management skills to children

By: 2009 Cleanup « Joel's Scattered Thoughts

2009 Cleanup « Joel's Scattered Thoughts — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:30:03 +0000

[...] Teaching time management skills to children from Unclutterer [...]

By: Open Loops 8/25/2009: Articles I Think Worth Passing Along | SimpleProductivityBlog.com

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:02:01 +0000

[...] reading Unclutter’s “Teaching time management skills to children”, I reinstated some thing I had grown slack on, such as no television within an hour before bedtime [...]

By: July 24th: SK Showcase and Weekend Links — Simple Kids

July 24th: SK Showcase and Weekend Links — Simple Kids — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:42:01 +0000

[...] activities to keep your kids busy while you work, part one (link via The Wonder Years) Unclutterer: Teaching time management skills to children Parent Hacks: Reuse sport bottles as spill-proof containers for drive-through [...]

By: Business Development | Social Media Literacy | » Productivity Recap- July 24th/09

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:37:46 +0000

[...] Erin of Unclutterer shares tips for raising an organized child in her post ‘Teaching Time Management Skills To Children”. Includes giving children an hour to get dressed and fed every morning, no tv. an hour before bedtime and giving 15, 10, and 5 minute warnings. http://unclutterer.com/2009/07.....-children/ [...]

By: @Stephen | Productivity in Context

@Stephen | Productivity in Context — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:36:50 +0000

Great tips! I would add some more time management techniques as the children get older and start having homework. Schools should be teaching organizational and note-taking skills much earlier than they do.

By: ellie

ellie — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:26:52 +0000

my children are now 36,33 and 29 but when they were little,getting them dressed could slow everyone down,,even if their clothes were laid out the night before. my rule became, if you dressed yourself,then you could wear whatever you wanted to school as long as it was clean and weather-appropriate. this did result in one kindergarten-aged daughter wearing a strip of emerald green sequins around her waist like a belt ,no matter what else she had on,everyday. (she was cured of sequins by the experience and never wore another to my knowledge). if i had to go help one get dressed, then i got to pick out what they wore–so a win-win situation.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:00:10 +0000

With three small children, I’ve found that routine is of the utmost importance. We do the same things, in the same order, every single morning that we have to leave the house. Like many moms, I try to get as much done the night before as possible, sometimes even loading up the car if the morning will be especially early or hectic. I get up at least a half hour before the kids, and get their breakfast ready (and drink my coffee in the quiet!) before they get up. No breakfast until they’re dressed, and shoes on, completely ready to go before they can play with toys. And no TV in the morning, ever!

By: Erin

Erin — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:43:28 +0000

These tips could easily be ‘tweaked’ for adults. All the principles apply to adults as well.

By: Deborah Marchant

Deborah Marchant — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:26:42 +0000

Getting kids up? Try a simulated dawn ‘alarm’ clock
http://images.google.com/image.....=f&oq=

Another thing we can do to help kids get up and go more naturally and with less turmoil is to change the time when school begins. EARLIER for Elementary School (this age manages to get up early to watch cartoons on TV) and LATER for Jr High and High Schoolers.

Sweet Dreams

By: Natalie from Western Australia

Natalie from Western Australia — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:52:35 +0000

On school mornings our boys put on their undies, school pants, socks and shoes only. Pyjama tops stay on until after breakfast and teeth brushing, then are changed for school tops. That way it doesnt matter if food or toothpaste gets dribbled on the pyjama tops.

Our other brainwave was to give the sleepiest child (also the oldest aged 9) the alarm clock. it goes off and he knows its his responsibility to get mum and dad out of bed. Hehe – no annoying alarms in our room!

Whoever it was that posted about ADHD type kids – feel free to give me any tips you have about helping them get organised.

By: PS~Erin

PS~Erin — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:46:37 +0000

Awesome tips… The getting up in plenty of time in the morning is huge for us. Starting school last year was a tough one for us. My daughter had to adjust from waking up at 9 to getting up in time to make it to kinder on time. I started out letting her sleep as long as possible and then we’d rush around to get there on time. Then I started waking her up 20 minutes earlier and our mornings were so much better.

By: Maryann

Maryann — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:24:33 +0000

When my friend’s kids were slow-poking, she drove the one that was ready to school, and then came back and drive the other one on her way to work, who ended up being REALLY late because of it. Now both are always ready way before time. LOL.

By: Leah Goodman

Leah Goodman — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:09:15 +0000

When it was really cold in the winter, my mom would put our clothes in the dryer and tell us that if we get up *right now,* our clothes will be warm.

If it was Sunday, my dad would sometimes wake us with hot cocoa

By: sarah

sarah — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:27:33 +0000

As someone whose mother employed the warning system throughout grade school and high school, I’ve got one bit of advice: don’t do it.
It leads to resentment and a perceived lack of respect for the child’s autonomy. How can you foster responsibility if you’re constantly giving 5 and 10 minute warnings? It’s sink or swim in the “real world.” As soon as a child can fully understand and be impacted by the consequences of his/her actions, then he/she doesn’t need to be coddled.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:12:30 +0000

I set the breakfast dishes/placemats/napkins out the night before and we decide what we will be having for breakfast – that way the most important meal of the day doesn’t get skipped or scarfed down in the car. No TV watching during breakfast either.