Good habits for children, teens and parents–working together always brings good surprises!

In 2015, the "Educational Team" of Organize Italy, a project aimed at supporting teachers, tutors and parents in their educational role through the development of organizational skills. My role is as a referent for parents, those who are going through complex years in an effort to best combine, work life, often too hectic rhythms and the role of attentive and present parent. Do you find yourself in these words?

I am also a mom and love my job, and I am aware of the daily challenges you have to face, but I also know the value of organizational skills and good habits learned from an early age, and how much they can really help children, teens, parents and the whole household to achieve a peaceful daily pace, arriving at the end of the day satisfied and never under stress, impacting interpersonal relationships in a positive way as well.

Why train good habits and when to start

We know how each age presents different educational challenges, to which as a parent, you must be prepared to give the "right answer." But educating for organization involves an investment of energy, patience, support, time and even a bit of discipline. Ingredients that you will often find yourself short of by being caught up in the hectic whirlwind of busy days, and with your eye fixed on the clock, experiencing the unpleasant feeling that time is never enough.

Actually our days are always 24 hours, it is up to you to make a paradigm shift, don't say, "I don't have time" but enter a different "mind set," that is, learn to "manage yourself in time." Include in the daily routine "a time to devote" to developing organizational skills and constructive habits is important for you as a parent, but also and especially for your child, child or teenager, to make him or her autonomous, respectful toward others, and able to manage himself or herself as well as possible.

One aspect I often find in families is precisely that they do not value organization by creating right routines and healthy habits from an early age. Mistakenly, it is thought that a young child cannot learn organizational skills in the first 2 to 3 years of life; on the contrary, the earlier you start the better. It is like learning a foreign language, knowing that at a young age one is inclined to learn more easily and with less effort.

It is important to accompany the child on a path of growth in which the value of the organization has a prominent place in support of the educational project, so as to acquire its benefits without being aware of it, like a game, in a natural way, giving rise to a lifestyle in which autonomy and independence are an integral part.

Why use the support of a Professional Organizer

Those who contact me have had the ability to stop and listen to themselves, have been able to identify their own frailties and difficulties, and wish to change their lifestyle and improve it.

Never before has the family unit been facing constant changes that create difficulties in daily management. The family consists of several people, and parents have the often complex task of creating a harmonious gait among the various figures.
The home is like a small business, involving the work of the heads of the family, the "tout court" management, the study of the children, the spaces to be managed and shared, the various activities of everyone, the daily imputs and tasks to be dealt with are not few, and practices and roles are often difficult to comply with.

Organization is a useful tool that comes to our aid, knowing how to use it to the fullest is training, made up of strategies and methods that must be tested by creating a fruitful collaboration between the P.O. and the client. Each client has his own needs, it is the Professional Organizer's job, after careful listening, to interpret and propose possible solutions.
Changing habits involves commitment and a bit of discipline, it is a real journey, made up of small steps, each assimilated stage leading to success that entices you to grow in the right direction. You will be increasingly motivated toward change by experiencing the physical and mental benefit of the new habits assimilated, to arrive at the end of the day satisfied and avoiding states of excessive fatigue or stress , and the support of a Professional Organizer can make all the difference.

Experience teaches

I am contacted by those who find it extremely exhausting to set changes in motion, even though they are aware of the need to do so, as emotions have raised the white flag.

Years of direct experience, I started this work that I am passionate about in 2013, have allowed me to verify various aspects of the profession; how to develop the relationship with the client and how to operate on a practical level, because the Professional Organizer, after giving ample space to listening suggests tools, strategies and methods to achieve the goal, solutions that must be tested and verified together.

I have been able to verify, especially with children and young people, that an external figure greatly facilitates communication. The P.O. has a more detached view, is not personally involved emotionally, and what he proposes is more easily accepted, resulting in an empathetic relationship that naturally translates into operation. The parent feels supported in the difficult role of educator, supported by the development of organizational skills through the presence of the Professional Organizer, and aspects that seemed insurmountable become more attainable.

Story telling

I was contacted by a mother who complained that it was very difficult to tidy up her 8-year-old son's room, as the child could in no way separate himself from all the toys he owned, which were definitely in excess and some of them no longer appropriate for his age. The spaces in the room were not functional for the activities he was supposed to be doing, such as studying, and there was also no sorting to identify the toys in question.

The work I carried out was approached on two different levels, on the one hand understanding why the number of games was so excessive, inviting parents, who easily gave in to their child's demands, to turn the material gift into an "experience gift." Suggesting a tour of a city, a visit to the zoo, a ticket to a play, anything that could become a bag of memories and that the child would carry with him or her forever.

The other phase was devoted to the child with whom I worked for two days in complete harmony. Despite the fact that his mother thought he would never part with anything, he with lively enthusiasm followed me in the following activities:
- Transforming spaces
- Space clearing, eager to give a second life to all those toys that he had not used for a long time and that would have made many other children happy
- Classifying, respecting his way of creating categories
- Choosing the right containers to buy, in relation to the type of toys they would contain
- Making the labels that he personally designed and that would help him find the toys when the time came.

The wonder of the parents was so much, to see how their son, coped with the situation, as entering into a relationship with an outside figure greatly facilitates.

But the organizational habits to be developed can also be related to the following topics:
- The assessment of the use and functions of common spaces
- Family or individual planning
- Customized organizational solutions
- Choice of organizational supports
- Facilitation of communication among the various members of the household, through shared tools and strategies
- Economic management (for children and adults)

We recall our activities

(https://organizzareitalia.com/organizzazione-per-la-scuola-e-gli-insegnanti/)

Following is the link to parenting shadowing courses, you may find the answers to your needs and entice you to start a path, in which I will be by your side.
https://organizzareitalia.com/course-category/corsi-per-educare-allorganizzazione/genitori/

Appointment schedule:
Free online workshops with limited number, where we explore EDU-organization-related topics in depth and answer questions from attendees. (Meeting dates are regularly posted on our FB page https://www.facebook.com/OrganizzareItalia and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/organizzare.italia/)

If you have mirrored yourself in some of the topics discussed, you could benefit from the intervention of a Professional Organizer, I am available to support you and help you in the changes you desire. Sharing my experience with you can make a difference.

"Sometimes it is necessaryto decidebetweenone thing you
are used to and another that we would like to know."

Paulo Coelho