Teaching Your Child Time Management – Dudes To Dads Podcast Ep 129

This podcast episode 129 was inspired by an article found on TheSpruce.com written by Apryl Duncan.  While plenty of adults struggle with time management, it's important for us to pass this education on to our kids.  Here are some tips: Start Early - Don't wait until they are teens to teach them time management. Toddlers and pre-schoolers can learn skills to begin understanding time management. Make it fun - If you stress out badly with time, they may too. You'll want to make the exercises fun. We'll talk about some things to do and you will want to keep it light. Teach Them About Time - How to read a clock. Help them understand what 5 minutes mean. This takes some time. Make a family calendar - This calendar should have everyone's general schedule and what is going on with the family. Let them have their own calendar - In addition to the family calendar, they can have their own. This can tell them when to get and get ready for school, when to attend their sports activity, or when an event is happening. This gives them a sense of ownership Establish Set Meal Times - This is ideal for eating together and for example, they know to come inside because dinner is at X time. In the mornings, they know they need to eat by 7:15 to be on time for school. Don't Overschedule - Don't have them participating in every sport or after school activity. Don't book 3 parties on a Saturday. It's very easy to fall into this trap. Schedule downtime - While adults need downtime, so do kids. If time is feeling limited, put free time on the calendar as well. Teaching them priorities - First. Next Last. This is a good method for learning priority. Positive reinforcement - When you see them doing something good with time management, be sure to make a big deal about it "You were ready on time for school today. It was greatly appreciated"