Teaching kids how to manage time well
“Oh, it just feels as if 24 hours is not even enough!”
“I never seem to have time to get anything done.”
“It’s now March 2021, where have the first two months of the year gone to?”
Do these refrains sound familiar? Well, to those who have gone through at least a couple of decades in their lives, our so-called grown-ups, these refrains are all too common. You would have uttered these phrases yourself at some point in time or might have at least heard these words being spoken by someone around. Time really is a vital asset, isn’t it? And more often than not, we have a hard time managing it efficiently.
If this is the case with grown-ups, then how do kids today fare? Time management is something that we don’t normally end up teaching kids in an explicit manner. Today, with all the conveniences of 21st century technology, the threat of our kids becoming even more complacent and clueless when it comes to time management seems all the more probable.
The cyber dilemma
Screen time is the obvious concern of the present-day Singaporean parent. How much is too much? During the past year, there has been a significant shift to online learning. Households had to ease the screen time restrictions placed on kids. An obsession with gadgets and the online domain is the biggest threat to effective time management. What needs to be done here?
Firstly, understand that not all screen time is bad. The quality of screen time needs to be assessed. For instance, your kid might be reading an e-book, listening to an educational podcast, or watching a really informative video. Make sure that a good part of screen time is used in such productive endeavours. It is also good to put in place a system where your kids spend at least a minimum number of hours away from their gadgets.
A to-do list to make things efficient
You need to keep track of your commitments if you are to charter an effective time management strategy. This is the first rule. Make an online or offline pen and paper to-do list for your kid. Plan in advance, set targets and monitor progress on a periodic basis.
Every night before bed, ask your child to take a look at the list, glancing at the things to do for the following day and tracking the things that had been done on that particular day.
The priority for school work
Ensuring that your kids learn to be disciplined with their academic work and similar commitments can make them organized and responsible throughout their lives. Allocate a fixed amount of time daily solely devoted to school work. Factor in some time for revision and attempting mock questions or exams as well. Specific study zones should be designated within the house where kids will be able to concentrate and not be distracted by their surroundings.
The right time for meals and sleep
Having a fixed time for meals at home would help ensure better time management for everyone in the family. It comes with the added benefit of ensuring some family time with parents being able to bond with their kids and everyone being able to keep track of what is happening with each other.
Another thing of great importance is the time you allocate to sleep. Everyone needs an adequate amount of sleep. In the case of kids, this is all the more important as they are in the stages of physical growth and development. Let’s focus on ensuring that our kids are early sleepers as well as early risers. It is advised to ensure that a ‘no gadget rule’ is observed at least 30 minutes before bedtime. Getting the right amount of sleep is essential to ensure that your kids are focused and efficient enough to implement their time management strategies.
Share some responsibility
Parents must focus on putting the kids in charge as much as possible when it comes to time management. You need to be able to make them understand that preparing and adhere to a proper or efficient time management strategy is in their best interests. In the initial phase, parents can take an active role in helping kids plan their to-do lists and associated aspects. But gradually, the reins must be transferred to the kids, giving them more responsibility but keeping a watchful eye over them to prevent any digressions from the path of time management.
Teaching them to take a break
You need the right amount of rest and leisure along with work in order to lead an efficient and enriching lifestyle. Ensure that the schedules are sprinkled with breaks so that kids don’t get bored. They need to be able to refresh themselves every now and then. But at the same time, be cautious to avoid overdoing the breaks.
Time management is a life skill of great significance. Giving kids the basic lessons early on can help them master this skill and reap great success as they grow up and move into various realms of life.
Let’s work on improving our time management together! 🙂
A powerful lesson on Time Management
Exam Smart Tips
Exam Smart Tip #1 – How to Encourage Our Kids to Speak Better?
Exam Smart Tip #2 – How to avoid carelessness?
Exam Smart Tip #3 – Establishing Routines!
Exam Smart Tip #4 – Let’s Read Carefully!
Exam Smart Tip #5 – Beating the Exam Fever!
Exam Smart Tip #6 – How to Eat Right for the Exams?
Exam Smart Tip #7 – How to Avoid a Meltdown?
Exam Smart Tip #8 – Taking Stress out of Tests
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