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Saving
time for parents
by Tash
Hughes
Until you have a child, it is
hard to understand just how much
time it can take to organize
yourselves.
Not counting time for playing
and doing fun things, parents
spend a lot of time doing things
for their children and trying to
be organized. Add in work,
household tasks, family
commitments, hobbies and
friends, and it becomes obvious
that parents need to save more
time wherever they can.
The following tips can help you
save precious moments; although
some are somewhat tongue in
cheek, all have been used by
parents to save their time and
sanity.
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Dress your child in the next
day’s clothes at bedtime.
This saves undressing and
dressing time in the
morning, so can be very
useful for early starts or
important days.
-
When making school or
childcare lunches, make them
in bulk and freeze them.
Each night, pull out a
lunch, add some fruit and
you’re ready for the next
day.
-
Colour code underwear and
socks for children. It’s
much quicker to grab blue
undies for Sam and green
ones for Mary than to look
at each pair for sizes. For
those you can’t colour code
or to use hand-me-downs,
make them different in
another way. For example,
when your older child grows
out of socks, sew on a
little ribbon or bow to show
they belong to the little
sister.
-
Have a whiteboard or notepad
in the kitchen and write
your child’s spelling words
on it. As you cook, you can
test your child on their
spelling, leaving your free
time for playing rather than
homework.
-
For basic items, have one
per child. These is no
bigger time waster than kids
fighting over whose hair
brush it is and whose turn
it is to use! Sharing is a
great value to teach them,
but not when you are trying
to get things done in a
hurry!
-
If items like hairbrushes
are often being mislaid, tie
a piece of elastic through
the brush and onto a
suitable place. Make it long
enough to use it but not
long enough it can go very
far from where it is tied
to. No more searching for
brushes every morning can
save you hours over a year!
-
Instead of flicking through
meaningless magazines in
waiting rooms, take the time
to read with your children.
That way, you aren’t wasting
time waiting but spending
some quality time together.
-
Give the kids big containers
for storing toys. The easier
it is for them to put toys
into containers, the quicker
they’ll get it done and the
less you’ll have to ask
them. Keeping toys in fiddly
compartments might make it
easier to find things but
only if someone can be
bothered putting things into
those compartments.
-
Find or create a shelf
somewhere high for storing
wallets, keys, mobile phones
and the like. Not only does
it help you find your own
things, but having it out of
reach will prevent little
fingers walking your things
around the house.
-
Leave the kids with someone
else when you go shopping,
especially grocery shopping
or when you need to move
between many shops. Even the
best behaved kids will slow
you down, and they would
have more fun elsewhere
anyway.
-
Write down all the phone
numbers programmed into your
home phone and keep it
somewhere safe. Next time
the kids accidentally wipe
the phone’s memory or you
have a power failure, you’ll
be able to quickly restore
the information.
-
Find a discipline method you
like and stick to it. Once
you and the kids know the
rules, control can be gained
quickly and major
disruptions avoided. For
example, once children know
you count to 3 for
misbehaviour, they will
often stop as soon as you
start counting.
-
If your kinder or school
doesn’t arrange it, get a
class list of parents and
keep it somewhere obvious.
It’s the quickest way to
find someone to swap duty
days with you or arrange a
play.
-
Keep bed linen in the kids’
bedroom, even if its just
one set. It helps everyone
get back to sleep faster
after any accidents at
night.
Tash
Hughes is
the owner
of
Word
Constructions
and
assists
businesses
in
preparing
all
written
documentation
and web
site
content.
Tash also
writes
articles
for
magazines,
newsletters
and
websites.
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