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Decluttering Tricks for Kids

Posted on May 16, 2017 | by KD Novelties

Kids are not exactly known for being neat and tidy. Keeping up with the trail of toys and other things your children leave behind on a daily basis can be challenging, and putting things away can be an even bigger obstacle. Kids’ rooms may be full of stuff, especially since kids always seem to be taking things out and not putting them back. Here are some ways you can declutter your child’s room to help maximize space and cut down on cleaning time.

Toy Rotation

Buying toys for kids is always a bit of a gamble. You might find something you think they’ll like or they may ask for something specific only to have them play with it and forget all about it. In other cases, your children may be “into” certain items for periods at a time but not all the time. You can create a toy rotation where you round up all of your child’s toys and separate them into bins or boxes. Keep only one box of “current” toys out at any given time, and take out other items as kids ask for them. This way, you only have a limited number of toys out and about at any given time, lessening the amount of time you spend putting them away as well as freeing up some space in your child’s room. This toy rotation system can also help you learn more about toys or other objects your children may never end up playing with, which you can then consider donating to family, friends, or toy drives.

Kid-Proof What You Can

Make sure that certain areas like drawers and closets are kid-proofed, especially for younger children. Paying attention to not only cluttered closets, open drawers can be dangerous for small children, but access to these areas can tempt kids to empty everything inside onto the floor and around the house. By limiting or controlling access to certain storage space, you can have more of a handle on how much of a mess your kids make, plus you can teach kids to think about what they want to play with or do with more focus, encouraging them to manage their time and make decisions on their own.

Maximize Your Wall Space for Storage

Furniture can take up a lot of room, and it can be expensive, too. Consider limiting furniture like toy boxes, sets of drawers and other such bulky pieces of furniture to only the essentials and increase your shelf space. Shelving frees up the center of the room while still allowing you to put things away or organize items or reading books in a visual manner that can double as storage as well as decoration!

Ask Kids for Help

It’s important that you teach your children the importance of picking up after themselves, but it helps to encourage them to do so in a healthy way. It is important that you are not too controlling with what kids do or have access to (like above, you can kid-proof certain areas, but limit this to storage while leaving “current” toy boxes and other items open for your kids to peruse and access freely when they’d like) and that telling them to clean their room isn’t made out to be an overwhelming, and often repeated, command that is eventually ignored and/or resented. When asking your kids to clean their room, make sure to give them specific instructions. Instead of saying something vague like “Clean your room,” say something more direct like “Pick up all the toys and put them in the bin,” or “Try to put all of your books away.” By breaking down the task, it makes the whole chore sound and feel easier, as well as more manageable and less overwhelming.

It’s important that parents and guardians test things out and see what works best for their children. Each kid is different, and different tactics may work more than others, but there are plenty of ways in which you can improve your life and your child’s life by decluttering their room and by making cleaning much less of a chore.

Giving your child the right kind of praise

Posted on February 6, 2017 | by KD Novelties

There are so many different facets to parenting, that praising children for their successes and accomplishments seem like a given. It sounds like it should be the easiest thing to do, especially since any parent would love to be able to celebrate things their child has done whether it be doing their homework, remembering their chores, or winning a prize. But praise can also lead to arrogance, and negative comments can be disheartening.

According to Michelle Macias, MD, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, “A parent’s job is to shape children’s behavior. Children consider praise a reward in itself, and praise is a way to help them learn which kinds of behaviors are acceptable, even from the earliest days.”

She also suggests offering kids ten positive comments for every negative one. Praise is often seen as enough of a reward, and provides satisfying amounts of incentive for kids to do good and to keep trying their best. And while negative comments can be hurtful, they can still help steer kids towards making better choices while also teaching them that it’s okay to make mistakes, especially if they learn from them.

Process vs. Outcome
It’s also important that parents notice what they offer praise for. Is it for behavior or innate qualities? Things like compassion, consideration, and dedication are all great qualities to have. But praising children for being smart can be tricky sometimes.

The American Psychological Association recently published a report that discussed a group of fifth graders that were asked to complete a series of math problems. Some children were given praise for being smart whereas others were given praise for their hard work. The children who were praised for their intelligence ultimately performed poorly, perhaps because they believed that their smarts would help them solve the equations without added effort. The children who were praised for their hard work performed better and proved to be more diligent and persistent in their ability to solve the math problems.

Being smart is a great quality, but focusing your praise on the process, not the outcome, can help produce a positive can-do attitude in children, regardless of other innate abilities or characteristics.

Additionally, offering praise for a child’s process can still prove to be positive if they do not achieve the result they desired. If a child is smart, and is praised for being smart but gets something wrong, they may begin to doubt their intelligence. But for children who are praised for their hard work and diligent thinking, they may be inspired to keep trying if they know the journey is ultimately worth it.

The How and the Why
Researchers claim that how you offer praise is more impactful than the words you use. For younger children, making eye contact and using their name proves to be effective, especially since marked moments like these are more likely to be remembered.

But the way in which you say things doesn’t completely trump your word choice, either. Outright negative comments are not always productive, so wording things a certain way can help inspire kids to keep trying or to explore another approach to a problem or a certain behavior. You can laud them for their ability to get certain things right, but offer help where they’re struggling while promising to let them try again at a later time.

It’s also important to keep tabs on how often you offer praise, too. Too much praise can be damaging, and over time it can lose its power. If a child hears “good job” often enough, it may not mean much of anything to them anymore. Try to be selective when it comes to certain accomplishments, but also consider picking out a specific characteristic of their accomplishment that can be focused on – instead of telling your child that you “love” every picture they draw, pick a favorite part of the drawing, whether it’s the use of color or the subject matter. Make each bit of praise count.

Overpraising, saying things like “you’re the best” or “you’re the smartest” can also be harmful as well. Parents should want their children to have a healthy sense of self-esteem, but too much can lead to arrogance and unrealistic expectations of the outside world as well.

The key is to keep self-esteem and optimism close. Encouraging kids to try harder, and applauding them for their hard work, can go a long way. There are ways you can point out areas where they can improve, but it is vital that you lend a guiding hand instead of push them in a certain direction. Keep things balanced, and pay attention to the little things.

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Teaching Kids Social Skills

Posted on January 29, 2017 | by KD Novelties

Not every kid may need help with things like reading or feeling excited about school, and the same goes for social skills. While some kids are naturally social and are skilled at it, other children may need a little help getting out the door. Some kids vary depending on their age or temperament, and others may vary in sociability depending on their home environment or other developmental factors. It helps to know where your child stands and what they may need your help with.

Generally, kids will have developed certain types of skills by certain ages. For example, kids who are 2-3 years old will generally be able to walk on their own, but they will also exhibit social behaviors such as seeking the attention of others or signaling social interaction with the basic “hi” and “bye” verbal cues. If your child does not quite align with the norm, then you will want to look into why that is and address it. Each child is different, but developing key social skills can be more easily helped with encouragement and positive reinforcement.

Social Interaction

It’s important that kids be around other kids. The way a child interacts with their peers will be different than how they interact with adults, and kids who are not exposed to other children may have a difficult time finding common ground or knowing how to relate to others their age. This is a common problem in children who may be an only child or have few cousins and other relatives to interact with, especially if they haven’t started school yet. If this is the case for your child, it’s important to keep things like parks, play dates and even daycare centers in mind. It’s important that kids learn and understand the social rules that apply to interacting with other kids, such as taking turns and playing games, which develop into other key skills, as they get older.

Teach Empathy

Sharing and taking turns are important to the foundation of social interaction among children. Being able to play together peacefully is something that all parents and guardians, and teachers and program operators, strive for when their kids spend time with others. It helps if kids understand why sharing is an important social skill, not just that it is something they should do because their parents say so. When kids are capable of understanding others, things like sharing and other signs of compassion come easy, and friendship is fast to follow.

Nonverbal Social Skills

This part can be tricky for some kids. Kids who are on the spectrum sometimes have difficulty understanding this aspect of social interaction with children and adults. However, there are ways in which you can help kids learn more about nonverbal cues and what they mean, as well as what these micro-gestures communicate. Sometimes, nonverbal actions are subconscious, but not always. They can lend insight as to what a person is feeling or thinking, even if they are not saying anything at all. Things like eye contact, body language, use of personal space and facial expressions can all say a lot about a person. What can actually help these skills are kid-friendly television shows and other programs. Many animators and actors on these programs exaggerate facial expressions and other gestures so that they are more recognizable to children, and therefore easier to pick-up on and understand. Though, it is important to note that the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that kids watch TV for a maximum of two hours a day. TV can also help kids better understand and identify tone of voice, adding layers to how a person is feeling and why as well.

All of these areas of social skill and ability will differ from child to child, but it’s important that parents are able to identify the ways in which children can be social or have issues socializing with others. Sometimes, knowing where your child is struggling can help you better identify the solution, but in some cases you may need to consult a doctor or a child psychologist if your child has other needs that may need to be addressed.

Lastly, it’s important for parents and guardians to express the importance of empathy and understanding with children, and even if your child is simply shy, helping them better understand themselves and others can help to significantly improve the friendships they have and may make in the future.

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