{"id":104,"date":"2019-07-25T20:22:57","date_gmt":"2019-07-25T20:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-childdevelopment\/?post_type=chapter&p=104"},"modified":"2019-08-08T19:24:32","modified_gmt":"2019-08-08T19:24:32","slug":"time-management-for-children","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-childdevelopment\/chapter\/time-management-for-children\/","title":{"raw":"Time Management for Children","rendered":"Time Management for Children"},"content":{"raw":"Time management is typically a challenge for all ages, yet it is critically important for reaching goals and maintaining a good quality of life.\u00a0 We can begin helping children to become more aware of time from an early age.\r\n\r\nThere is evidence that infants actually possess some sense of time.\u00a0 However, it takes years for children to show signs of a sophisticated sense of time or what French psychologist Sylvie Droit-Volet calls, \u201cexplicit time knowledge\u201d.\r\n\r\nAt preschool age, children are becoming more aware of time and its passing.\u00a0 However, they will make perceptual errors based on context.\u00a0 For example, most think that lights that shine brighter last longer. By about age seven, children usually can demonstrate skills involving estimating how long things will take and their sense of time grows stronger from there. We must keep in mind, however, that not every child will advance to these stages chronologically.\u00a0 Children with attention or focus issues, ADHD, or executive functioning deficits will find sense of time much more challenging.\r\n\r\nHow Can We Help Children?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nChildren benefit from adults working to build consistent routines.\u00a0 If the morning routine and the bedtime routine are the same, or very similar, children will know what to expect and will be able to better manage.\u00a0 It can be very helpful to create a visual schedule of what tasks will need to be done.\u00a0 Creating task cards with pictures of the task can be helpful as well.\u00a0 Involve the child in the creation of a \u201cTask List\u201d.\u00a0 Depending on their age, you could have them draw pictures of the task, and cut them out.\u00a0 Each day, the child could put the picture of the completed task in a pocket or folder or on the refrigerator.\u00a0 A checklist with the tasks written on a sheet for the child to check off may work well for an older child.\u00a0 \u00a0Use of white boards for tracking tasks is another option.\r\n\r\nHelping with Transitions <\/strong>\r\n\r\nChildren are seldom in a hurry, but adults tend to be.\u00a0 One thing we can do to help with that is to be patient.\u00a0 We can also work on our own time management and try to build in cushions of time so we are not always running late.\u00a0 If mornings are stressful and getting a child or children ready is chaotic, consider getting up a bit earlier or preparing some things the night before.\u00a0 When traveling to daycare, school or appointments, build in an extra cushion of time so you are less likely to be yelling, frantic and then driving like a maniac.\u00a0 Make it a habit to arrive anywhere you need to be at least 15 minutes early. For example, if the start time or appointment is at 8:00, plan to be there by 7:45 at the latest. This habit not only reduces stress for the adult and prevents chaos for the child, it also serves as excellent role modeling for the child.\r\n\r\nGetting a child ready to go can be challenging. It will often seem like a child is working against you as they drag their feet every step of the way. Telling a child to \u201churry up\u201d isn\u2019t usually very effective.\u00a0 They don\u2019t feel the sense of urgency we do.\u00a0 If you have a child with any type of executive functioning or other developmental issues, you may need some extra patience when communicating what needs to happen next.\u00a0 Some tips that can be helpful are:\r\n