Almost everyone leads hectic lifestyles these days. There is work, school, sports practice and so much more that keep everyone on the go. Often during the week, schedules can run fairly smoothly while school is in session. If you have younger children, they also benefit from a regular sleep schedule.

It is recommended that children up to age 5 get at least 10 hours of sleep every night. Children are highly active and they expend a lot of energy throughout the day. They are also still growing which also uses energy. Sleep is vitally important for children and most don’t get enough of it. Start establishing a bedtime routine early if you can.

Dinner should be served at approximately the same time every night because this is where the “pre” bedtime routine starts. After dinner children can play quietly or watch television if that is what you allow. Roughhousing is not encouraged after dinner time because the children get overly excited and it is more difficult for them to fall asleep.

Bath time is next. Warm baths relax children just as they do adults. It is fine if they play with bath toys. After their baths it should be time for a small snack. Normally a piece of fruit and some milk do nicely. After they have finished their snacks have the children brush their teeth and take care of other bathroom needs. Then, you could read to them or have them read by themselves if they are old enough. This should definitely be quiet time. Reading time should be a set amount of time, say 20 or 30 minutes. Then it is time for lights out.

It takes a few nights to implement a bedtime schedule but it can be done. No matter how hectic their days are, dinner should set the tone for them that it is time to start to wind down. Be consistent with your schedule and soon you will have no problem at all getting the children to bed at a certain time.

Children need to be held responsible for their actions. If this sense of responsibility is instilled to them while they are growing up, this will be good for their future. Do not make the mistake of assuming that the child is too young to understand responsibility. Maybe it is something as trivial as picking up their toys and keeping them away neatly, but once a child made this as his responsibility, he will do it gladly.

Involve them in small chores around the house and be ready with a word of praise when they do it. Keep it simple at first, like laying out the dinner plates. Then add on some more chores, even involving them on taking care of their younger siblings, and notice the pride that they take in while obeying you. The child must always be taught that he is responsible for what he does. Even it has been a minor squabble at the sand pit in the park, the child must be made aware that he has not behaved properly with his friend and needs to apologize. One way of doing this is to ask the child to imagine, that same action done to him and whether he would like that. Insist that he learn to share his toys with others if he wants them to do the same for him.

When you assign responsibilities ensure that your instructions are very clear and predictable. Make a list of all the things that you want for each of your children to do, and make sure that you are appreciative to them when they do it, not forgetting to reprimand them if they fail in their duties. Do not try to bribe a child to do something, by offering him a new toy or lunch at McDonalds if he does it. Bribing does not encourage responsible behavior. On the contrary the child may get used to demanding things for every action and this is definitely the wrong thing to teach him while he grows up.

If you have allotted a specific task to your child, be sure that he fully understands the reasons for what he is doing, and the right way of doing it. They will know that if they follow the guidance that they have been given, they will easily get the job done and earn your admiration. If the job is beyond their immediate capabilities, teach them by an actual demonstration on how you want the things to be done, and stay with them for the next few repetitions till they get the hang of it. Do not be too critical if they make mistakes and help them to correct it when they do.

Let the children know very clearly what could be the consequence for them on not taking their responsibilities. It may be something as simple as no TV, or docking their pocket money. But if they are aware of the results of neglecting their responsibilities, they will take it into consideration. If they do transgress in spite of this, make sure that the penalty that was decided is imposed without fail.

A responsible child is a credit to you and a good indicator of their future. Today’s society is very intolerant of people who are irresponsible, and if the children grew up to be not responsible for their actions, they may find society quite intolerant of them in the future. Take every opportunity to instill the sense of responsibility in your child. You are making his future brighter.

Little Kids at your home will give your house a much disheveled look. Kids never get tired and even though it’s a lot of fun having them at your home, they will test your patience with their boundless energy. You may think that you have already cleared up the mess that they have created in one corner of the house, but there they are somewhere else, strewing their toys all over the place and making your home look like a hurricane struck area.

It is not only the toys that are spreading everywhere. Their extremely short attention spans means that if they are doing something like working on their drawings and crayons, and if something else attracts their attention, they will just leave the floor or table strewn with their earlier activities and move on to whatever has distracted them. This is very true especially if the television just starts showing their favorite program.

Parents expect that their children will learn to organized and collect their own things and keep it in proper places when they‘re finished playing. If they are trying to put on their shoes before going to the birthday party next door, they will decide on what they are going to wear and they will just get it up and go away, leaving you to get the other pairs together to keep where they have should been.

Children need to be trained if you want them to learn on how to organize their things. It is possible for them to learn on how to be organized. If you succeed in training your kids to be organized, it will make your life easier and also lay a foundation for the children to be organized throughout their life. And, would it be nice if they learn to pick up their own belongings.

Start to teach your child to be organized.

The right time to start teaching the kids is when he has learned on how to take the toys out from where they are kept. Once he has learned that it is not too difficult to remove things from his toy cupboard or container, teach him the right way to keep back the toys after he has finished playing with them.

Keeping them back in the proper place may not be easy for a child to learn at first, but persisting with the same routine of keeping back his toys every day, will ultimately teach him that he has to do it, once he is finished playing. And once it becomes a habit you would be happy with his change behavior.

What else can he be taught?

Children always look to their elders and parents as role models, and are likely to be quite pleased to do things that they do. If you have the habit of always keeping your things neatly in place, it would not require too much of persuasion to make him follow your example. If you are fastidious about always picking up your shoes and placing them on the shoe rack, it would be easy to insist that the child does the same.

Children require constant guidance. They may forget the instructions that have been given to them if they got distracted, but a gentle reminder without raising your voice, will get the results that you desire. Be patient and do not get frustrated just because you need to repeat the instructions.

Check if you can convert the keeping of his playthings into a game, with a song or dance attached. If the child associates the activity with something funny or pleasant, they will be quite eager to organize their things. No raised voices, no admonitions and definitely no scaring or beating the child. That is just a wrong thing to do.

If you succeed in organizing your child to look after his own things, life would be less stressful for you and it will help the child as he grows up.