Time Management for Kids
By Rachel Paxton
Do you ever feel like there's not enough time in the
day? You've just realized it's time for bed, and you
still haven't accomplished all you set out to do today?
Put yourself in your kids' shoes. If you can't
prioritize and accomplish your own daily tasks, how can
you expect your children to do the same? Time management
is an acquired skill. Help your kids learn to be better
managers of their time. I have devised a way to help our
12-yr-old daughter with time management by dividing her
main activities into five basic categories: homework,
chores, bed time, social activities, and telephone.
Homework and chores kind of go hand in hand. They have
to be accomplished every day. Our daughter started
middle school this year, and she is exhausted when she
gets home every day. I have a hard time putting her to
work right when she gets home. Our initial rule was that
her chores and homework had to be done before bedtime.
That worked to a point, except that she was always
underestimating how long it would take to get everything
done and she'd save it all until the last minute. We
then tried a different approach.
Our daughter gets home at 3:00 every day. Dinner's at
about 6:00, and bed time is 9:30. That gives her
approximately the same amount of free time before and
after dinner. The new rule is that one thing (chores or
homework) has to be done before dinner, and the other
one after dinner. So far this has worked very well for
us. She has a little time to relax after school and
feels she has a little control over her own time.
Bed time has always been a problem at our house. We
initially told our daughter she had to go to her bedroom
at 9:30 but she could stay awake as long as she likes
(reading, listening to music) as long as she got herself
up when the alarm went off. This worked for a couple of
weeks and then she started sleeping through her alarm.
So now the lights go off by 10:00. As soon as she proves
she can get up on her own again, she will earn this
privilege back.
Social activities are great, as long as they're
supervised by adults and also granted in moderation.
Don't spoil your kids by letting them go wherever they
want whenever they want, even if they have all their
chores and homework done. The more time they spend with
their friends, the more time they have to be influenced
by who knows what kind of peer pressure. The more time
kids spend at home with their families the better. Make
social activities a privilege your children have to earn
so they will see them as a privilege and not something
you owe them. Teach them to spend their time in more
constructive ways like reading, writing, or playing
games with the family.
And along with the social activities comes phone
privileges. Telephone conversations at our house are
limited to 15 minutes each, 2 to 3 maximum per day, and
not after 9:00 p.m. Even this is lenient, but it gives
our daughter ample opportunity to talk to her friends
about homework, etc. Limiting phone time also encourages
kids to spend their time in more constructive ways and
teaches them to think about what they want to say before
they get on the phone.
Kids have a lot on their plates these days, and they
aren't born knowing how to manage their time. This is
where you come in. Kids neat to be taught these skills,
and not just by word, but by example. Don't forget to
practice what you preach.
