Are Your Kids Learning Disorganization from YOU?
By: Jennifer Dwight, IOD Organizing Coach
The Problem: Children can’t keep track of their belongings. Mornings are chaotic as you both struggle to find belongings and homework. Everyone is frustrated and stressed due to a lack of organization.
You know your children are learning disorganization from you because you share some of the same time management and organizing challenges. Getting and staying organized just doesn’t seem to be a priority.
Is it Nature or Nurture?
According to the experts, it’s nurture.
“Organized children aren’t born, they are raised.”
Damon Korb MD, FAAP
In his book, Raising an Organized Child, Dr. Korb describes his five steps for nurturing children not only into organized behavior but also into organized thinking.
These steps are-
- Be consistent
- Introduce Order
- Give everything a place
- Practice forward-thinking
- Promote problem-solving
There are tons of books out there about organizing and/or child-raising. I think this is one of the best for those struggling with disorganized kids of any age.
Additionally, here is a webinar on YouTube that outlines the steps in Dr. Korb’s book.
When I was a child, I was fortunate enough to have a mother who stayed at home. The house was always tidy and I was given consistency and routine in my life. My maternal grandma was even more immaculate with her housekeeping and routines.
One of my first memories involves matching shoes and storing them neatly together. This brought me joy. Socks were always kept together right out of the dryer and into the drawer. If a sock went missing, a basket was kept near the dryer.
I was nurtured into being organized! Not all of us had this experience. Both parents worked, children often had to figure it out for themselves and being organized kind of fell through the cracks.
These days it is a luxury to be or have a stay at home parent.
It is also a much-deserved luxury to treat yourself to the help of a professional organizer. In my opinion, it’s worth the investment.
An organized lifestyle is priceless; READ MORE
If being organized does not come naturally to you, it is probably because you never learned how. If you would like to make organizing a priority now, we can help both you and your family to get organized and stay organized. We also strive to make it fun!
