Parent Tips to Help Disorganized Kids

I can sympathize if you have a disorganized child – my personal experiences launched me into writing Get Organized Without Losing It. It’s a rare person who is born with an “organization gene”… and we can all use a little help. So here are some tips for you.

1. Be patient with yourself and your child. As you help her, remember that different things work at different ages, and as she grows she will be able to acquire new tools to suit her needs.
2. Early in the school year help your child with the following:
   • Provide a binder with dividers, preferably made of transparent plastic with sleeves to hold stray papers; label the dividers by subject.
   • Does your child use a planner in school? If so, help him get to know the contents and how to manage it. If not, find one he can use (the younger the child, the larger the planner).
   • Set up a “home office”, with a large desk, good lighting, and a sturdy chair. If the only study space is the kitchen table, provide a large crate to hold study materials and supplies.
   • Set up a home storage system for papers that can be filed during the year, to be retrieved if necessary.
3. Kids should do homework or some other form of studying/reading every day.
   • The rule of thumb is 10 minutes of study time per grade level (i.e., in 3rd grade, your child should study for 30 minutes).
   • Let your child take a short break every 20-30 minutes depending upon age. A break is necessary to let information sink in.
   • Provide your child with a healthy (non-sugary) snack after school to keep them going.
   • Help your child with long-term project planning. She needs to learn to manage chunks of time and information so she doesn’t leave big projects or studying for tests until the last minute.
4. Get things ready for school the night before to avoid forgetting something important.