Home
>
Parenting
>
A Place For Everything: Its Childs Play

A Place For Everything: Its Childs Play

What parent hasn't gone into a son's or daughter's room and wondered, "Where did I go wrong? How could I have created someone who creates such a mess?"

At this point it is essential to recognize that not everyone is born organized, just as not everyone is born with a talent for art or mechanics. But anyone can learn the basic principles of organization given sufficient motivation and instruction. These principles will serve as a sound basis for personal growth and development throughout life and will contribute greatly to a more peaceful living environment for the entire family.

You can help your child begin to use organizing skills at a very young age by creating an orderly living and playing space. As soon as a child can identify colors, you have a major building block for good organization.

Picking up toys can be a game for your toddler when you have colored boxes or shelves where similar toys can be stored. For example, all the Lego blocks can go in the green box and the rest of the blocks in the yellow one, while all books can go on the red shelf and the audiotapes in the blue one. Pictures can be used to help identify what belongs where. Although the child may be unaware of it, you are teaching one of the basic principles of organization: Put all like things together.

Spend time with your child sorting through belongings to decide what is to be kept. Be sure you have a good idea of what it is you need to organize. Then browse through closet shops, office supply stores and mail-order catalogs to discover creative ways to store the essentials. All children (as well as adults) are more inclined to put things away when it is readily evident where they should go and convenient to do so. Pegboard, hooks, plastic cubes and bulletin boards make items easily accessible and can be clearly labeled to make putting away an easier task. Let your child help decide on a specific place for each item or group of items. Make that place as accessible as possible. Set up a table or area where unfinished puzzles and building projects can be left out until completion. An older child will need space for doing homework.

Conventional closet shelves are often too deep to be conveniently organized. Add more shelving, or use portable shelves and dividers available at hardware stores or closet shops. Games can be returned to shelves easily if they are stacked five or six deep.

If your child is a collector, provide boxes for storing various treasures- one for stamps, another for rocks- and when that container is full, help with the weeding out. This is excellent training for the choices children must be able to make as adults. No storage system will work effectively for very long if the containers are not properly labeled, so provide large colorful markers to make labels. Show your child how to arrange the boxes on the shelves or in the closets so that the labels are always visible without moving the boxes.

Clothing can be organized to make dressing and putting away clothes less difficult. Again, group all like items together-all shirts in one drawer, pants in another; dresses at one end of the closet, blouses at the other. Use shoeboxes or plastic containers to separate socks and other small items. Be sure the clothes rods are an appropriate height for your child to reach. Treat the child to bright colorful hangers that are easier to use and will improve the appearance of the closet significantly. Large hooks make hanging pajamas, robes and coats much easier too. Simply keeping the lid off the clothes hamper will encourage children to put their dirty clothes inside it, instead of on the floor.

A word of warning: There are no ironclad rights or wrongs about organization. We all need to have an environment that suits our individual personalities. Be sensitive to your child's likes and dislikes, and be patient while new habits are being formed.

In the meantime, take a second look at you own room. A good model is worth a dozen lectures.

Barbara Hemphill is the author of Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger at Work and Taming the Paper Tiger at Home and co-author of Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever. The mission of Hemphill Productivity Institute is to help individuals and organizations create and sustain a productive environment so they can accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. We do this by organizing space, information, and time. We can be reached at 800-427-0237 or at www.productiveenvironment.com

monthly home cleaning Buffalo Grove ..

In The News:

Smart home hacking fears overblown? Expert reveals real cybersecurity risks and simple protection tips to keep your connected devices safe from hackers.

MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

A Place For Everything: Its Childs Play

Parenting