How to NOT feel like your child’s assistant? Tip #3

Tip #3: Ring the Alarm

Beep, beep, beep!

The love-hate relationship that exists between our deep slumber and that chirping alarm(that gets frequently snoozed) is real. As much as alarms can be the bane of our existence, using alarms help get our day started, to appointments on time, stick to our schedule and so much more!

Since for the most part, we’re all at home, it feels much easier to press snooze a couple more times or roll right out of bed into our class/meeting. The pressure to get places on time feels slower since we’re all in the same place all the time.

Kids learn to manage their time with practice and experience. Setting alarms is a crucial piece of this so our kids can learn to get places on time, get tasks done on time, and know what is coming next.

Having a good awareness of what time feels like is at the root of healthy time management. We want our kids to have a really good feel for time so they develop a sense for it. This involves truly seeing time move, ideally with an analog clock that displays physical change throughout the day instead of simply using our phones clock or phone timers. Kids need to practice telling, estimating, and working with time so as they get older and more independent, it becomes more of an internal process. 

So how Do We build skills and keep track of time?

Use things that your child is aware of like, “Mom will be back in 30 minutes that is as long as one x show ”

Keep a clock visible in a common space in your home like a wall clock or wearing a watch to get a feel for time

Analog clocks are necessary for building time management as they allow us to “see” time in its relative fractions

Talk your planning outside so your child can see backwards planning modeled. Whether it is making dinner, running errands, or getting from A to B, think about how much time is needed to get ready and talk it out accordingly.

Think - how much time will this task take me?

Then - when should I start to make sure I’m done on time?

Set reminders or alarms to make sure you stick to your plan

Model using a calendar with advance notifications OR use a visual calendar so your plans are right in front of you, and help set this up for your child

Items to check out:

The time timer app on your phone, purchase a physical one click here, or even this cool whiteboard with timer!

For young teens (and your self) a really awesome alarm clock to use is the Philips sunrise alarm clock. It allows for a more natural way of waking up as it simulates the sunrising depending on the time you have it set for, and then you don’t have to rely on your cell phone as your wake up call!