Heart to Heart
Heart to Heart Dear Parent, Even in the midst of these busy and stressful days, it helps to take a fresh look at parenting. As your child throws new challenges your way every day, you need to appreciate that it contributes to your own growth and development. If you can find five ways to manage a last-minute school project without pausing to think, you’ll realise how parenting is improving your productivity. Every day, you are forced to be creative to meet your child’s demands and needs. Similarly, you are enhancing your negotiation and team-building skills if you help your child maintain peace with a sibling or neighbour. Are you aware that managing children develops several skills such as handling clients, effective time management and leadership? Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Intelligent parenting equips you for the boardroom, corporate leadership and just about any other job! If you think about it, you’ll become aware of the wide range of skills you are forced to use every day — from coaxing your child to cooperate, to striking a deal over television viewing rules. Therefore when parenting seems an overwhelming task, just sit back and take a fresh look at it. You might even laugh as you discover that the benefits of parenting outweigh the costs. Idea box- Help your child conquer clutter Annie Besant Jon “Mom, where are my shoes?” Does that sound like one of the demands that are yelled at home every morning before school? If so, here are some suggestions to get your child organised — tips that work! The first initiative to take is to stand in the battlefield (your child’s room!) and do a reconnaisence. Are toys and books fighting for control of the floor? Is a collection of funky caps parked on the desk? Once you give the common clutter-makers a fixed place, most of the mess will disappear. Help your child conquer clutter with these tips: Find a large bag, preferably of earth-friendly cloth, and dump socks, stationery, odds and ends into it. Suspend it from a hook, and decorate it with sequins/beads. Invest in a bin or shoe rack for footwear and tuck it behind the door. Make a home for games and puzzles. Store them in cardboard or plastic boxes or ziploc bags. Colour code the boxes or stick appropriate pictures on them in lieu of labels. Convert a shoe rack into a shelf for books, magazines and other publications. The challenge is to keep placing things in the right receptacles. Develop this habit by awarding stars for days when nothing is left lying around. Give small rewards for every three stars earned. Help your child conquer clutter. Also read: Desktop organiser Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp
