Organising children

Problem 1: Getting out the door on time

Solution:

Ahhh….the curse of parenthood. You are always running late for school, work, appointments, sport…why? Because….(fill in the blank – I couldn’t find my keys, Olivia changed her clothes three times, Simon hid behind his bed, I realised we didn’t have any bread for sandwiches, etc, etc). Your success in getting out the door on time is determined by one factor and one factor alone: The Night Before. At the end of each day, before you go to sleep, there are five things you need to do:

1. Create a Getting out the Door On Time check list.
   At the end of the day when you’re tired, sometimes it’s easier to run through your list, than try to remember. On p122 of your copy of Did You Remember The Milk? we have done the thinking for you. The Getting Out The Door On Time list has everything you might need to think about, and you can add extras items.
2. Ensure items you need are placed near the door: hats, bags, coats, keys, sports gear, etc.
   A great thing to do is to have a named hook for each member of the family near the door. Everyone can hang their bag, hat, coat and other stuff on this hook the night before.
3. Decide and leave out what you are going to wear the next morning.
   This means down to the underwear and have it hanging on your wardrobe door, or outside your wardrobe – where it’s easy to get to.
4. Ensure your keys are where they should be.
   If you don’t already have a home for your house / car keys – they should be in a small cupboard or drawer near the door, on a hook with a name that spells out what key is for.
5. And finally, make your lunch the night before, except for anything that’s going to make everything else go soggy.
   So for example, make the sandwiches, and leave the tomato til the morning. Even make the drink bottles.

Problem 2: Keeping bedrooms tidy

Solution:

I was recently asked on talk back radio how I could help a young boy find his bedroom floor! He had rung in because apparently his floor had been missing in action for some time, and his mother was threatening world war three if he didn’t clean it up. My advice was as follows:

• Ensure everything has a home. If it doesn’t, then ask yourself whether that item is worth keeping.
• If the answer is yes, then create a new home for it that is suited to that item.
• Don’t tidy for children over 4 years of age. You can help them, but they should be able to do it themselves.
• Make it fun to tidy up. Give items colourful containers as a home; if there are lots of little toys, group them into categories and find a suitable storage container for each. For example, you could pack Barbie clothes and accessories into a craft box which has lots of different compartments.
• Ensure there is enough space in the wardrobe – is the hanging space within reach of the child? (check out our smart wardrobe design).
• Make sure boxes and containers have a picture on the outside of their contents (especially if your child can’t read yet).
• Keep a photo of the room when it is tidy and put it on a shelf or the wall as a reminder of how things need to be (just to avoid any misconceptions about the definition of tidy).
• Finally, make tidying up a game with an obvious start and an obvious finish. Create time every day to do a 5 minute tidy (e.g. before dinner). Reward your child for a job well done.

Problem 3: Art work and school projects taking over the house

Solution:

Don’t let the school project become more challenging for the parent than the child! The best way to help your child is to give him or her the skill of organising. The project or homework table needs to have the following:

1. Enough desk space.
   Ways to create more desk space is to add leaves by screwing hinges on one side and adding another wooden extension that can be flipped over to double the desk space. You’ll need: 2 – 3 hinges, screws, piece of wood of same measurement as the desk top, 2 more table legs as support. How to do it.
2. A drawer with supplies.
   This drawer should have drawer dividers / inserts that are the right size for each kind of item: pencils, rubbers, sharpeners, markers, rulers, stapler, glue, scissors, calculator, craft items etc. Drawer dividers are available from Howards Storage World, IKEA and other homewears outlets.
3. A lamp with adequate lighting that can be moved around.
4. A comfortable chair
5. Storage for paper:
   A3 boxes a are fantastic way to keep projects and artwork in order. They come in attractive colours and have a label on the front, so you know exactly what’s inside. Kikki-K have a gorgeous range – see http://www.kikki-k.com.au
6. AA notice board which you can make yourself.
   All you need is: melamine, a wooden frame, a staple gun, attractive fabric to cover, and some ribbon to match which can be criss crossed over the fabric to hold photos, etc. Alternatively, you can buy a stretched canvas from a cheap art supplies shop and simply cover it with nice fabric. A nice touch is to buy some miniature pegs and nice ribbon and attach the ribbon to each side of the notice board and you can hang items from the pegs.

Problem 4: Keeping track of extra curricular activities

Solution:

An extra curricular schedule tracker with Child’s name, Day of the week, Activity, Start time, Location address, Clothes / uniform, Equipment, Pick up time, Car pooling details and Contact numbers. You can make one yourself, or simply use the one already provided on p125 of Did You Remember The Milk?

Problem 5: Finding a good babysitter

Solution:

The following tools are invaluable to me.

1. A list of babysitters I’ve used, agencies and babysitting websites all in the one spot. The template on p 111 of Did You Remember The Milk? has a spot to write all of this down, including days and times each babysitter is free and their fee.
2. A list of interview questions. When you’re interviewing someone, there is a lot to take in – their conversation, what they don’t say, their non-verbal cues and their answers to your questions. It’s very easy to forget to ask a babysitter really important questions. The solution is having a well considered prompting sheet. This has saved me the agony of overlooking important aspects of a person’s history or personality or skill set that would make or break their suitability. Hiring someone and finding out weeks or months down the track that they are really not right for your family is painful for everyone involved.
3. Babysitters checklist: Because you are usually in a hurry and because your house is second nature to you, there are things that can easily be overlooked in briefing your babysitter. Also, often the babysitter tries not to bother you with too many questions or isn’t sure what to ask. Get smart and write a babysitters checklist that will save you having to re-write a brief every single time. Then all you need to do is add the particulars for that night/day, such as where you’re going and when you’ll be home. The Babysitter’s checklist on page 113 of Did You Remember The Milk? has all the questions a babysitter will need to know.
4. Child care terms and agreement. If you have a regular babysitter or nanny, it can often be a good idea to formalise the agreement, regardless of how you are paying them. This helps avoid any confusion regarding your expectations and especially considerations like confidentiality, benefits, pay schedule and method and communication between both parties. Go to page 109 of Did You Remember The Milk? for Child care terms and agreement.

Problem 6: Meal Time Mania

Solution:

Set up an easy menu planning system that will see you all smiling around the dinner table. Click here

Problem 7: Keeping Kids Entertained

Solution:

I didn’t make Entertainment & Leisure the biggest section of Did You Remember The Milk? by accident. If you’re not making time for fun, then you need to take a seriously hard look at yourself. The Entertainment and Leisure planner on p 177 of Did You Remember The Milk? will house all your light bulb ideas that you have whilst talking to other parents, listening to your children’s desires and reading the entertainment guide in the Sunday papers. By keeping track of all your entertainment ideas and details, having fun can be easily planned. Your Holiday ideas and Pre-Holiday Planner on pages 165 through to 176 will make sure you maximise every minute of holiday fun.

Great resources:

1. Online child care resource: http://www.careforkids.com.au
2. For Pre-Schoolers: The Nappy Bag Book The Bub Hub
   Working Parents: how to work, raise great kids and have a life’, Michael Grose.
   Home Organiser: Did You Remember The Milk?