My friend, Amy once told me that she found a rotten hamburger in her daughter’s school bag. Her daughter is a very good kid, yet too messy, and keeps forgetting about homework until the last minute. Although Amy has repeatedly asked her daughter if there’s any assignment nearly everyday, the answer is always an honest “No.” All of a sudden, her daughter remembers that she has something to hand in to her teacher. The same situation happens too often. This makes both of them stressed out.

Are there any ways to help a disorganized kid? Marcela Carrera has some good ideas to teach your child some organizing skills:

Some people think that being orderly is an innate quality. But these skills can be taught, say Goldberg and Zwiebel. Kids can learn to prioritize and organize, and parents can help:

Clean out backpacks, lockers, and desks frequently. You can help your child sort through loose items and discard unneeded ones.

Identify what is actually necessary, such as books, binders, and gym bags, and keep these things in order.

Divide textbooks and notebooks by subject. If your child arranges books and binders by size in her backpack, everything will be easier to find.

Technorati Tag: Parenting

Blueprints for the Disorganized Child [Psychology Today]

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This entry was posted on Sunday, April 23rd, 2006 at 5:50 pm and is filed under Behavior, Learning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.