Chaos Control

Saw below article on the magazine, and wanna share with all mummies.

Is your child often messy and scatter-brained? These strategies promise to get your child clean and organised in no time.

You can spot this child easily. He leaves a trial of crayons, slippers, books and even clothes wherever he goes. He also loses his pencil box all the time, and his bed looks like a war zone. As a parent, there's no need to despair or feel like it's your fault for not being strict enough. The truth is, some children (like adults) are more organised than others, while others are simply a mess. But if your child is indeed disorganised all the time, it is best to help him overcome his scatty habits immediately, as experts believe a lcak of organisation can affect self-esteem and academic success. Here's how:

At Home
Concentrate on fulfiling these four Rs, and you're off to a good start:
Routine: Set a certain time for him to do specific things. For instance, he can play his favourite computer game only after he bathes. Or he has to feed the hamsters before he can catch his beloved car racing TV programme.

Reminders: Post-it notes, with world like "wallet" and "water bottle" scribbled in big letters, will help him to remember the things he must bring. Stick these onto a notice board at the breakfast table or near the main door. Get him to stuff these items in his bag before going to school.

Rationale: Allow him to see the reasoning behind the order. This way, he will have a mental "place" of where things go and why. For example, ask him to figure out his clothes from head to toe. Get him to arrange his shirt, underwear, shorts and socks before he dresses up.

Returning: Note where he leaves his belongings. When he tells you he has "miplaced" the items, ask him where he last used them. Reinforce this message: Return the items to the source (where he took them from), sot hat they never get "lost".

Just Remember Not To:
Do The Task For Him. It may be faster, but he won't learn if you keep packing up and picking out his stuff for him

Issue Direct Orders. Use questions to jolt the memory. An order might go like this: "You ave P.E. tomorrow. Don't forget your P.E. T-shirt again, unless you want the teacher to punish you! Replace it with, "Have you checked our timetable for tomorrow? Have you got everything?"

With Homework
A calendar and colour codes are key:
Daily Time Table. Break up his schedule into time chunks. You can use orange for homework time (say, 45 minutes), followed by green for outdoors or rest time (15 minutes). If you're not at home to supervise the plan, get a simple wristwatch with an alarm. When the beep goes off everyday at the pre-set time, he'll know to start work then

Checklists. Get him into the habit of jotting down his homework in his school diary rather than committing tasks to memory. Check th ediary and come up with your own reward system if he lists the homework and does them. Or you could get a small notebook where he writes down personal reminders, like "Call mum at 2pm" as well.

Wall Planners. Set an example by marking out important dates, like birthdays and term breaks, on a wall calendar. Get anymore in the family to jot down key dates liek excursions, grandma's birthday or a holiday on it too.

Just Remember Not To:
Rush At The Last Minute. Dr Garret D Evans, associate professorof clinical psychology who writes for the University of Florida, advocates a checklist for the worst time of his day. For instance, if he's always rushing to catch the school bus, you both need to remind yourselves throught the list to turn onthe radio five minutes earlier than the time he needs to wake up. Come back again five minutes after the radio's been turned on to check up on him. See if he can meet all the requirements on his checklist on time, and if he needs mum's help.