Tuesday 16 December 2008

Reasons for Children to get Organised

I can see 2 reactions to the title of this post, one being: "yeah right, my children want to get organised, ha ha" (in a sarcastic tone of thought), the other one being: "hmm, I wonder where this is going" (in a sort of interested tone of thought).

Well, I thought that we quite often underestimate our beloved little ones. You might have heard them make comments like the following before, just never thought they might actually lead to something productive.

I have borrowed the list from a book entitled "Organizing from the Inside Out" by Julie Morgenstern, a US organising guru. If you are truly serious about getting organised and want to try it yourself then I really recommend her book.

Here's the list (with its original US spellings):

"My favorite toys get broken"
"I can't play my favorite games because the pieces are lost"
"I get in trouble at school for always losing my homework"
"There's no room in here to play with my friends"
"Cleaning up is too hard. I don't know where to put anything"

If you have ever heard your little ones utter any of these or similar then they are ready to get organised and with your help they can achieve that. Sort with them, purge with and/or for them, organise things into suitable containers and teach them how to maintain and you will have equipped them with important skills for life.

So why do your little angels want to get organised, what are their incentives? (Another list from Julia.)

"Less fights with Mom"
"Easier to have friends over"
"No more broken or lost toys"
"Bigger allowance" (It's OK to offer your children rewards.)
"It'll be faster to clean up"
"Better grades in school"

Even if you suggest those reasons to your kids rather than the reasons coming from them, these are good reasons that are hard to argue with, whatever their age.

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