Children Organizational Skills

CHILDREN BED TIME

Resistance to sleep may be stronger than ever now. And you must be just as firm as you were when your youngster first started objecting to taking his nap or settling down for the night. If he screams and yells, let him. He can't keep it up indefinitely, and as soon as he realizes it's not going to get him out of the nap or bedtime, he'll quiet down. Once you give in to him, you'll have afternoon and nightly problems on your hands.

If he has a nightmare and cries out, make sure he's all right and comfort him, but insist he go back to sleep. It's a mistake to feed him or take him to bed with you.

CHILDREN ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS

In order to develop one of the important skills in children - organizational skills, the first step is to be organized yourself, for a child at this age sees everything and is as imitative as a monkey. If you haven't before, you should by now have a regular place for all your youngster's possessions, and be methodical in putting them back after they're used. Set a good example early.
 

Clothes: Low hooks and hangers in your child's bedroom and in the family coat closet are easily accessible. At first, he'll merely run and get what's needed, but when your little runabout is about 2 years old, teach him to hang up his clothes. If he sees you doing it, he'll get the idea in no time.
 

Toys: From his first birthday on, your child has needed his own room or corner with shelves or a cupboard for his toys. Begin at 18 months to put things away as he's through playing with them, and call his attention to what you're doing. He'll soon want to help a little. Show him where to put his toys an make a game of "running the cars into the garage," "putting Dolly to bed," and so forth. If he still needs assistance around the ages of 4 and 5, help him sociably.
 

ACTIVE GROWTH

Your youngster is now in the full swing of one of his most active periods of growth and learning. At a year, he was a baby. By the time he's reached 2, he'll be running everywhere, talking, feeding himself, making some moves toward dressing himself, helping to look after his belongings, and on the way toward being toilet-trained. In year's time, he changes from a baby to a child.

With so many things for him to learn, it will be helpful to stop and look at the way youngsters this age manage. There is
a time when your child is ready to take on easily and quickly each new habit, skill, or accomplishment. It's the time when
his nervous system and muscular development have caught up with each other, and he's bursting to try the new powers laid open to him. When he reaches for the spoon, it's his sign that he's ready to begin feeding himself.

Thus it is with all the skills and activities, which will be opening up gradually to your child in years to come. It's your job to catch the signals when he gives them. As you follow his development, you'll get more and more adept in interpreting them, and in helping develop the skill or ability for which he's ready at that time. Don't urge or rush him into an activity for
which he isn't ready. But when he gives the go-ahead signal, he sure to go ahead with him.

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