Ways to teach children time management skills

 

Most parents want their children to learn basic habits such as: money management, work habits, how to learn and study, communication skills,proper hygiene techniques, but have you thought about helping them manage their time better

To be fair, most of us probably haven't thought about this, and in any case, a study by the University of Pennsylvania found that self-discipline - the cornerstone of time management-is a better indicator of adolescent academic performance compared to IQ.

Here are ways to teach your children the basic skills of time management through some ideas that will accompany them throughout life:

 

1. Early education:

 

There is always time to improve time management skills, but why wait until your children grow up

It may seem like an exaggerated act of parents, but you can start teaching basic time management skills to young children, even preschoolers are able to complete simple tasks in short periods of time, such as: brushing their teeth, or returning their toys to their designated place.

 

2. Develop a program and adhere to it:

Regular work programs today give a framework that regulates the world of a small child, Myers (Robert Myers, predictability may be boring for adults, but repetition and routine pave the way for success for children. In fact, from the first days of life, work programs have existed, where children specifically need Sleep Programs, regular meals and even routines that lead to those activities

As your children get older, you have to help them establish a daily routine, and the reason, according to Dr. Myers: it allows them to know what is going to happen and what awaits them, allows them to think and feel more independent, safe and secure, as the change of routine makes the child uncomfortable, insecure, irritable.

In addition to organizing their lives, this may help them take responsibility, give you the opportunity to spend quality time with them.

There are some obvious times to start setting simple time goals, namely:

Morning routines, such as eating breakfast and getting ready for school.

After-school routines, such as housework and homework.

An evening routine that includes dinner, brushing teeth and reading before bed.

 

3. Create calendars:

 

Whether it's a paper calendar or an electronic one, ask them to participate in the calendar creation process, make a list of family obligations and include them in the calendar, and to avoid mistakes, use color coding so that each person has his own color for his agenda, keep the calendar in an accessible place and review it.

In addition to the family calendar, ask your children to create their own individual calendars, and after their personal calendar, it may be more in-depth than the family calendar, and you will be surprised how much toddlers want to control their calendars, as a child can help determine which activities to add and which ones to ignore.

 

4. Setting priorities:

 

It is necessary for children to learn to differentiate between what they should do and what they would like to do, to learn to prioritize and self-monitor says Marcia Grosswald, an assistant teacher at the upper primary level, where Grosswald uses the common analogy of students ' duties with rocks, pebbles and water, rocks also indicate their most important tasks, such as: school and sleep, pebbles represent extra-curricular activities, water represents things they would like to do, such as spending time with friends.

I use a jar to represent the day, and I put rocks in it first because it's things you have to do whether you like it or not, and then I put pebbles, but there's still some space in the jar, so I pour water until the jar is full, and that's how our day is filled,

 This may be an activity that parents use to help them prioritize.

5. Measuring time:

In order to make a realistic schedule, you need to have a good sense of time, I offer them a schedule that divides the noon and evening hours into 15-minute time intervals so that each time interval has three columns: what the children plan to do, what they did, and meditation, as the latter gives them the opportunity to reflect on the time spent and adjust their schedule accordingly

6. Learning with fun:

As an adult, it's hard to imagine how time management can be fun, but it's possible if you then use it as a game, and even increase your productivity through it.

For children, interactive games, lesson plans, and activities are also available online to teach children in grades 1-3 basic concepts of reading time.

There are also activities that you can do with the family, for example: you can ask them to design an hourglass and then use it as a stopwatch, and many other fun games

7. Independence:

Of course you want to protect and help your children as much as possible, but at the same time, you should also give them the opportunity to make decisions for themselves.

Suppose they have just started a new school year, and therefore they have a new routine and teacher, new expectations and rules, which makes them anxious, and here instead of telling them how to deal with this situation, let them express their fears, develop solutions to this problem, but when they get older, let them create their own routine, allow them to deal flexibly with their programs so that they Time.

8. Not to overdo the commitment:

What happens when you over-commit and set a tight schedule Perhaps you feel busy and exhausted all the time, you may feel that you are always falling short, and you have no room to process the unexpected. The same happens with children, as they need breaks to play and have fun on their own, relaxing at the end of the day.

9. Determine a place to study:

 

If you've ever worked from home, you know how important it is to have a dedicated workspace, but this should be a top priority when it comes to time management because it has a great impact on reducing distractions such as TV or annoying family members, and also helps you separate your work and personal life.