Moms everywhere can relate – your child comes home from school again without his coat or iPad and he “doesn’t know what happened to it.”
Or perhaps you’re running out the door and your little one doesn’t know where his other shoe/notebook/backpack is… again.
But the good news is – you can actually teach your child a few tricks on how to take care of their stuff!
Not sure where to begin?
Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Everything In Its Place
The best way to help your child keep track of their stuff is to create designated areas for everything.
Their toys, school supplies, clothes, electronics, and every other thing should all have an assigned place.
Then, teach your child when they come home from school to put their backpack on the hook (or wherever else you want it to go) so it’s in the same place every day.
Set up a charging station for their electronics – and get them labeled cases to carry their stuff.
Do whatever it takes!
Even making a quick checklist of what they need to make sure they have every item when they leave school and board the bus will help minimize the chance they’ll forget something.
Purge The Excess
Often times when children have so much of everything, they learn to not value what they have.
If one toy is lost, they aren’t worried because they’ll go on to play with the next.
By getting rid of excess clutter and junk – and helping your child to prioritize what toys/clothes they actually like and need – it will save you both time.
Less mess to clean up, and less things to lose!
Don’t Reward Bad Habits
If you keep replacing the stuff they lose like it isn’t a big deal – they’ll learn to think it isn’t a big deal if they lose something, because mom will just replace it.
Of course, sometimes this is inevitable such as if they lose a coat or something important – but for things like toys and games – if they are lost then use it as an opportunity to teach them consequences that can occur when one is not responsible with their belongings.
They may have to go without the toy, or save up money to purchase a new one themselves.
Lead By Example
Remember, our children watch everything we do!
If you come in your home and throw your keys wherever and leave your clothes all over the floor – your child will develop this same habit.
However, if your child watches the way you take care of your items, and put things away where they belong, this is a helpful habit they can learn just from exposure.
It may take some time, but by developing a system and teaching your child better habits – you can hopefully both regain some sanity by knowing where to find things!
Does your child struggle with always losing things?
What are some techniques you tried to help stop the problem in your home?
Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
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