Organizing My Tween Or Teen's Room
What are the special challenges of organizing an older child's room?
I think the biggest challenge of organizing an older child's room is to take into account all the technology. You know, the iPod, the computer, if you allow the child to have gaming units in their room, there's just a lot of cords and units and things to consider. It's about figuring out where all that goes and how to house all the components for all of that, printers and scanners and everything. So older children's rooms are no longer just rooms where they have their clothes or their music or anything, there's just so many other things to think about.
How can I develop organizational systems that changes with my older child's needs?
The challenge in organizational systems for older children is taking into account the paperwork that they have, the homework, the things that they might want to keep in terms of their college prep, all of that. So it's really helping them develop a filing system, which I think is great because it also teaches them how to hopefully maintain a filing system, and what is the thought process that goes into doing that. So I think that's a great learning tool for them, but it's also something that's a necessity. And also in teaching them how to put things back in the place that it belongs, and how to sort of figure out where to put things. And it's great if you can get your older child involved. I've worked with clients that have thirteen, fourteen-year-old children, and when it's come time to organize their rooms, I've actually told them, "You know, it would be great if I could work with your son or daughter for a couple of hours, because they need to own this system. They can't just walk into the room, and, oh, everything's in a different place." And whenever I have done that, it's always been terrific because now, they're telling me, "No, no, no, I want my music here, because I'm lying in bed when I'm listening to it." Or, "I don't care about these papers being here, but I want my books here, and this is where I sit to do my homework." So it really is great if you can get your older child involved because they have opinions, and they know what their needs are, and it's also just so great for them to be able to express that.
How can I create spaces in my older child's room for the room's different purposes?
I think when it comes to creating spaces in older children's rooms, it's great if you can work with them and talk with them and see what it is that they actually do in those rooms. A lot of times older children really like to spend an enormous amount of time in their room with the door shut. So you want to say, OK, do you watch TV in here? Do you listen to music? Do you talk on the phone? What is it that you're doing in the room and what can we do to create spaces for you to do that? I also think it's really important to have different spaces in the room so that the bed doesn't become the place where everything is done. You don't necessarily want to do your homework in the bed and talk on the phone in the bed, and read in the bed. Because more and more studies too are showing that really what you should only be doing in bed is sleeping. You don't want to develop these bad habits of using the bed as sort of your office. It's good to work with the child and to really find spaces in the room that you can create areas. Put a chair somewhere, this is where they can sit and talk on the phone and they can read. Or this is where they sit to do their homework, this is where they watch television. Or however that's going to work out. It just depends, it's on a case by case basis. You can definitely do that.
How can I organize my older child's closet?
Older children's closets are a lot of fun, because children really start getting into clothes, and especially older girls. They love their wardrobes. So, it's always fun to work with them. You'll find, to help them create a space, and help them organize you need to learn the concepts of maybe putting skirts, shirts, and outfits together. Putting their shoes in one place. Learning how to sort things and separate things. So, it's really a fun process. Because, again we grow up. We develop habits at certain ages, and these are the habits that go with us as we become adults. So it's really great if we can work with our children to develop some of these habits from that age. As far as specifics in organizing their closets, I find that it's always good to use baskets and containers. They tend to have lots of certain things, lots of flip flops, lots of hats, lots of things like that. So really finding things that we can use to hold all those things in. For boys, it's always fun to get them a basket so that they can put their baseball caps in. Or, for girls, something to put the flip flops, sandals or the sunglasses. You know these aren't things that all have to go in drawers. They can be things that can go on a shelf or in a closet, and they can utilize them that way. I think that's the other thing it teaches them, that things don't have to be boxed in. Just because it's in your closet, it doesn't have to be just something that you would wear. It can be your sunglasses or it can be your make-up or something. Purses. So, whatever it is, it's really like getting them to think about space differently.
How can I help my older child organize his or her schoolwork and study area?
How can I help my older child schedule his or her time?
Another really key thing that children learn between age, is the concept of schedules and calendars. Up until a certain age, your mom, or your parents, dictate your schedule. This is when you go to school. These are your play dates. This is when you have other activity. As kids get older, they start wanting to schedule things on their own, and they inform you that, "Oh, I'm going to Johnny's house today". It's a great time for you to teach kids how to manage their time and also how to keep their own calendar and their own schedule, and maybe also bring in that element of it also being about communicating your schedule to other people in the house. Give them their own calendar and teach them how to keep track of their appointments and their schedules, and knowing that these are commitments that you are making. They're not just things you write down or things that you forget to write down, whatever the case may be. It's just a great time to teach that concept of scheduling and keeping a calendar.
How can I organize my older child's mementos?
Well, as kids get older, I think you no longer have to decide what things you're keeping for them. It now becomes them who are deciding what they're going to keep as their own mementos. So, I think it's key to give them something that they can keep their mementos in and to teach the concept of; these are things that you may want to have one day and to keep them in this box. And if you want to go through them later on and decide that they're not as important as you initially thought, that's great. But you know, here's how you can keep track of your photographs, here's how you can keep ticket stubs, sports memorabilia, and things like school programs you might want to have. And really let them keep their own memorabilia, and keep track of that. It's a really good thing because it's really just for them anyway, so it's good to teach them how to do that.
What tools can help me organize my tween or teen's room?
I think the best tools that can help you organize your tweens room I mean there's a couple of things. I think a bulletin board is a great tool because one it's a great thing for them to put things on that they want to have visual access too but also it's a great way to put up reminders. It's almost teaching them the idea of you know keeping track of things making lists you know maybe they put like to dos on there whatever it is. It's a form of expression for them so it's really great for them to have something that they can you know put pictures anything they want on. A calendar is a great tool for them to have . I think if they have a computer which most kids now days do is teaching them how to store things on the computer. Whether that's photographs that they're taking you know with a camera and learning how to you know make files for those photos and keep track of them or burn them on a disk and keep track of them that way. I think in generally really with older children it's not so much about containers as it is about systems. And I think you know when kids are younger you really just want to teach them the concept of putting things back where they belong and when kids get older you want to teach them how systems work and how systems can help them to you know further in their life. Whether that's time management or organization or whatever it is. So I think it's really about systems with older kids.
How can I encourage my teen to develop good organizational habits?
I think the important thing is to not make teens feel like you're trying to develop these habits because you're dictating to them. It's important to talk to them about what the benefits of those habits are. I think: "Kids are smart." And if they see that something has an upside or they really see the value of something, they're going to get it. I think it's not so much about dictating to them or just making them do something, as it is about explaining to them that this is really a valuable tool to have. I remember myself when I learned how to outline something, and I remember thinking: "What's the point?" I had a teacher explain to me how learning this one little thing would be so helpful for me in so many other areas of my life as an adult. It was absolutely true. When she explained that to me I was able to sort of understand it better and sort of "go with it." I think its key to explain to teens how this is going to help them in the future. How does this help them with time management? How does this help them with all of the other aspects that they want to do in their life?
How can I help my child not to lose things?
Here is the biggest key - to not just teens but even younger kids - is that they learn by example. You can't expect them to do something you are not following yourself in your own environment within the house. If you are constantly losing your keys and you are expecting your teen to keep track of where his or her key is, that is not going to work. I think it's important to talk about these systems with them.
How likely is my teen to use an organizational system?
I found older kids actually to be quite responsive to having systems in place. Within; but I've also found that you have to let older kids sort of be a little more free. So I think it's just important to remember that the systems may not be adhered to, to the T. But the idea is to just get a system going. It doesn't have to be perfect and that's okay.