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As adults—and parents—we know that time management is a skill that is essential for all of us.
Without time management skills, one would find it difficult to manage a career, a family, your own personal time, and almost every other aspect of life.
So, it is naturally something that we should look at when we consider the important life skills that are to be imparted to our little ones.
Contrary to popular belief, the concept of time is not a confusing and abstract concept.
It can be broken down into simple ideas and activities so that they can be taught to pre-schoolers and infants.
At Nurture Infant House, a Tampines preschool, we take this seriously, too!
Read on to find out how you can teach your pre-schooler some time management skills, and how we do it at our own school!
1. Make time management fun!
Time management does not always have to be about appointments, meetings, and boring schedules.
When teaching your little ones about time management, you should try to make it as fun as possible.
Here are some tips you could use to add some colour into the concept of time management:
- Use crayons or colour pencils to colour your own calendars
- Add stickers to mark special days
- Use adorable apps as calendars
- Stick a magnetic calendar on your fridge for your kids to visually plan their days with colourful magnets
- Make it a game to see who can complete simple tasks around the house that usually take up a lot of time, such as brushing their teeth, putting on their shoes or getting their backpacks ready for school tomorrow
Remember, the more fun you make time management for your kids, the easier it will be to get them to understand the importance of time and how to manage that constantly ticking clock!
2. Introduce rewards
Let’s face it, as much as we try not to reward our children too often, rewards work! The truth is, children learn well when there is positive reinforcement involved.
When you little one keeps to his or her schedule, it would not hurt to introduce a reward or two to motivate him or her.
Rewards also do not always involve a new toy or gadget. It could simply be a praise! When your child gets ready for school in time, or shows the effort to do so, praise them for achieving a positive result.
Whatever it is, you should decide on those rewards together as a family. Make sure your child’s opinion is taken into consideration when discussing rewards!
Time management rewards can be turned into time well spent with your family as well!
3. Use the First, Next, Last technique
Young children may not be able to understand the concept of time properly. However, it is still important that you introduce some sort of routine into their lives to structure their day.
One way you can do so is through the First, Next, Last technique.
The First, Next, Last technique helps young children be able to organize their day. They can think of what is the first thing to do during the day. Then, they can move on to what needs to come next. Finally, they can think about what the last thing they should do is.
For example, when your child wakes up, he or she will think “First, I need to brush my teeth. Next, I need to play with my toys. Last, I need to get ready for bed.” In doing so, you are also teaching them the concept of prioritizing, which is also very important when it comes to time management.
Start small with daily priorities before moving to weekly and monthly priorities.
Structure and routine are important so that children are able to understand the concept of time management.
At Nurture Infant House, we make sure that you children get a head start by introducing daily routines that include structured activities and rest, as well as time for independent exploration and learning!
The Bottom-line
As we scurry from one meeting to the next, we know how important time management skills are in the course of our life.
Giving your children a head start in building this skill set is essential for his or her development.
Similarly, for parents living in the east of Singapore and are looking for an infant care centre in Tampines or a Tampines preschool, Nurture Infant House is one of the leading Tampines infant care centres with more than a decade of experience in caring for your beloved children.
Keen to learn more about our infant care centre?
Click here!
You can also register with us here!
Feel free to WhatsApp us for more enquiries.