Hasta La Ideas

Getting out the door on time is a difficult task when you just have yourself to worry about in the mornings. Getting out the door on time with children in tow is even more difficult. The website WebMD has a terrific video about fostering time management skills in children and helping them get where they need to be, when they need to be there.

A round-up of tips from the video:

• No television an hour before bedtime.
• Prepare for the morning rush in the hour before sleep. Backpacks should be packed, clothes need to be chosen for the next day, etc.
• Wake up your child in the morning with a whisper and a kiss, not screams and demands.
• Give children at least an hour to bathe, get dressed, eat breakfast, and brush their teeth before needing to be out the door.
• Get rid of distractions, like toys.
• Give “warning” messages at 10, 5, and 1 minutes before time to leave.

Do you have additional tips to add to this list? Please share them in the comments.

A few times after speaking and writing about having an uncluttered home, people have said to me:

You obviously don’t have kids.

I know that these are lighthearted statements meant to let off a little steam about one’s personal experience, but they always rub me the wrong way.

Simply stated: Having children and being uncluttered are not mutually exclusive endeavors. You can have both. Problems occur when people (of any age) have more stuff than they can store and routines do not exist to take care of the things they own.

If a child has so many toys that they are strewn in every room of the house, it’s time to get rid of a large selection of the toys. If the child doesn’t have a toy chest, cabinet, or closet to properly store his toys, then he needs one. Lay out all of your child’s toys on the living room floor for him to review. Next, have him pick which toys will be kept and which ones will be donated to charity (or recycled or thrown away, if necessary). Have your child go with you to make the charitable donation so that he can see the children who are benefitting from his generosity. Then, after returning home, organize the remaining toys in a designated storage area.

A reader on the site recently left a comment that I agree with wholeheartedly:

If a child is old enough to get out a toy to play, she is old enough to put it away.

Yes, it takes diligence to monitor a child’s behavior to know when to encourage her to put away her things after play time, but it’s not impossible. If you’re unable to keep on top of toys being put away at the end of every play time, then have a routine in place where the child walks through the entire house and puts away all errant toys 15 minutes before starting her bedtime routine. Teaching children these life skills at an early age will help them to always live an uncluttered life. Yes, there will be times when your encouragement will be met with resistance, but such are the ways of parenthood.

Be sure to check out our previous posts in the Baby and Children categories to get even more ideas and suggestions about keeping toy clutter under control.

Books are an important developmental tool for children. My daughter has quite a collection so far and I’m sure the collection will continue to expand. It is always advisable to keep the collection under control. There is no reason to hold onto some of the lower level books when your child loses interest in them as she grows. Try to give the books to friends or donate them whenever possible.

My wife and I recently discovered the website One More Story. It is a great way to supplement your child’s book collection while increasing her reading comprehension and basic computing skills. The site has the equivalent of books on tape with highlighted words. The site also includes illustrations, sound effects, and music with certain stories. A demonstration is available for preview. 

One More Story currently has over 50 children’s books available. A year-long subscription costs $44, which is less than $4 per month. My wife and I didn’t hesitate to subscribe and we have enjoyed using this site with our daughter. Instead of packing up a handful of books when we travel, we simply log on to One More Story and have access to their library from any computer with internet access.

I’ve written about keeping children’s toy clutter under control in the past and I also recommended some toy alternatives here and there. Simple Mom has a great post on a similar theme, but specifically classic toys. It’s an article that should be read by anyone planning to give a gift to a child.

My daughter has received some rather gimmicky toys over her first couple years and we have been pretty good at predicting which toys will be the duds. The classics are always reliable and have proven their entertainment value by their staying power. That’s why we purchased our daughter some basic wooden blocks this past Christmas. They are simple, versatile, and provide imaginative play for our daughter. Blocks are among the classic toys mentioned by Simple Mom along with art supplies, dress-up clothes, books, and dolls (among others):

Our general guidelines for toys are that they’re made of quality materials, they appeal to a whole range of kids, and they’re open-ended to make room for all sorts of creative play.

I also encourage you to browse around Simple Mom’s site. It is a great read for those of us who are dealing with being a uncluttered parent.