Let’s face it, our children’s lives are busy. Between school, extracurricular activities from ALOHA Math or Reading | Writing sessions to sports or piano lessons, and time to just be a kid…that can be a lot to juggle. Parents can help children learn time management skills by following a few steps: planning, organization, scheduling and adaptability. A bit of time working with your kids on managing their time, can also help a parent’s busy schedule run more smoothly as well.

Let’s Talk about Adaptability First

We know every week is not going to go along with our plan. Unexpected projects or homework being assigned, a change in a sporting event schedule, a forgotten note that parents never received…all can throw things into chaos. How parents handle an issue that comes up can help children learn to be adaptable as well. With a bit of time spent on the three items below, and a positive attitude in the face of changes that will happen, can go a long way in making your child’s week run more smoothly.

Helping your Children Learn to Plan Ahead

If parents and kids work together to set aside a bit of time each weekend to think through their upcoming week, and create a baseline plan that allows some room for these life events/changes, there is a better chance that chaos can be held to a minimum.

Move from Planning to Scheduling

During your weekly planning time with each child, block out the big events in the upcoming week – major tests, sporting events or music recitals. Then block out preparation time for those events. Around those, block in the normal weekly events – homework time, sports or art/music practice, and after school enrichment like Aloha classes. Be sure to allow down time for kids to just be kids, and some time for adaptability. If every moment of your child’s time is scheduled, that leave less room for changes that can happen.

Organization for Children

Be sure to have supplies for homework and school projects organized in one location. Help your child find ways to organize their school materials in a ways that makes sense for them. That way projects and homework should go much more smoothly. During your weekly planning session try and decide what extra supplies you might need this week. And during the week, check assignments early – so you can get any needed supplies. This of course depends on your child remembering to bring home their paperwork in time to plan. We all know those weeks when that doesn’t happen…that’s when that adaptability we mentioned above comes in handy.

Day-to-Day Time Management with Kids

Helping children learn to manage their time can be a challenge. In addition to planning for the weekly projects, events and homework there is day-to-day management of time…and stuff. Help your kids find a routine to help them remember everything they need to get to school on time. Big, bold checklists by the door can help. Also helping kids find a place or location where each item on that list “lives,” giving things a “home,” can really help. For a child who has trouble getting it all together in the morning, try getting it all together before bedtime and laying out the next day’s clothing and setting the backpack with everything in it by the door can be a big help.

Please share with us and other ALOHA parents your time management tips for children. What worked for you, might work for someone else too!