ORGANIZING YOUR KIDS

It seems like an impossible task – getting your kids to be more organized. But it all starts with you !

Kids learn from watching their parents. So if you aren’t organized, your children won’t be.

Maybe now is the time to start changing the way you do things so that you can set a good example for your kids.

Let’s start with breakfast. I’m sure that you’ve heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I know that for a lot of families it is also one of the most stressful times.

The kids get up late. They can’t find their homework or shoes. You can’t find your car keys. There is no time for breakfast much less packing lunches. Everyone is yelling. And you are ready to pull your hair out.

Let’s take a deep breath and see what we can do to rectify this situation.

First, we rewind the clock and go back to yesterday. Let’s pretend the kids did their homework. Then they put their homework into their backpack and put their backpack in a designated spot, maybe near the door.

Then, they get their clothes ready for the next day. No more trying to find the “right outfit” at the last minute in the morning. If anything is missing you have time to hunt down the missing socks or shoes before you get ready for bed.

After their homework is done and put in the appropriate spot and their clothes are all laid out for the next day, they have time to make their lunch for school.

Give the kids some responsibility. Expect them to be responsible. This should start at a very early age. Even if they can’t get their clothes ready on their own or make their own lunches yet….this is the time to teach them. Help them decide what to wear (but as the mother of girls…don’t pick their outfits…or you’ll be up all night because they can’t possibly wear what their mother picked out). Let them help make their lunches if they are too young to do it on their own. This is the time to guide them in the direction of “good food choices”.

If you don’t expect the kids to help….they won’t. If you don’t expect the kids to pick up after themselves…they won’t. If you don’t expect the kids to make good choice…they won’t.

Having a routine is crucial. It not only teaches the kids responsibility it also helps to reduce your stress as a parent.

Now back to breakfast. Maybe you might want to set the breakfast table the night before to give yourselves a head start in the morning. Or you might want to pack a quick “take along” breakfast that the kids can eat in the car or at school before school starts.

It is much cheaper and healthier to make your own breakfast at home. You can make a nutritious breakfast in less than five minutes at home. Try cutting up an assortment of vegetables ahead of time and putting them into a tupperware container for use later in the week. Pop a couple of slices of toast into the toaster. Heat up a skilled and throw in a spoonful of vegetables. Stir in an egg and in a couple of minutes you have a nutritious breakfast. Add a few slices of fruit and it gets even better.

The trick is to have everything prepared ahead of time.

My husband makes the world’s best pancakes (just ask the kids!). When he makes pancakes he usually makes up a huge batch and puts two at a time in individual freezer bags. When the kids were younger they just took a bag out of the freezer, popped it into the microwave and in a couple of minutes had a hot and delicious breakfast.

It’s all about planning. That’s what being organized is all about. Planning ahead to make things easier in the future.

The more organized you are now….the less stressed you will be later.

Teach your kids when they are young and it will become a part of their lives.

It’s not an impossible task. And it all starts with you.



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