Karate Kid Lesson

My 7-year old is a disaster…when it comes to organizing, that is. She’s sweet, kind to her friends, and shares with her big sister, but she cannot seem to put anything away where it belongs.

As a mom, I completely understand the need for kids to be messy and have a space that is all their own, so we are pretty lax on the cleanliness of bedrooms. However, we do have to be able to shut the doors when needed…and even that comes as a difficult task for her.

As an organizer, I find it hard to balance letting her be messy and finding some semblance of sanity for myself. To find a happy balance, I try to let each child have a messy room while requiring that the public spaces stay presentable. This is still a work in progress.

Step One for Syd was getting her to realize her coat, shoes and backpack don’t belong under the couch, on the couch, or in the middle of the kitchen. (Literally. Items would just fly off and land where they may as she came home from school to find a snack.)

This is where we introduced the Karate Kid method. I had seen her put her things away at school, so I knew she could do it. I felt that maybe the habits hadn’t been ingrained deep enough and her muscles just didn’t know what to do. So I decided to strengthen those muscles.

On a Sunday, I had her put on her coat and backpack and then come in the door and hang up each item on the appropriate hook. Then, I had her put it all back on and do it again…20 times!

Next were the shoes that were in the middle of the living room. She had to go get them and put them in the closet. Then I took them back to the living room for her to put away again…20 times. It was all fun and games for the first five minutes, but she quickly grew annoyed with my training lesson.

The first test came Monday afternoon when she came home. The coat, backpack, and shoes were again all over the house. So, back to our new training process…20 more times. I think she was testing me to see if I would stick with it and actually make her do something so ridiculous AGAIN. Yes, Mom is that crazy.

But on Tuesday afternoon, crazy mom won. The coat, backpack and shoes landed happily in their correct homes. I was amazed that it had worked! There are still other areas that we need to work on with Syd and her disorganization, but from one mom to another, even a small win is a win!

QUESTION: Are there organizational tactics you’ve been using with your children that just aren’t working?

CHALLENGE: Get creative! Think of some “out of the box” ideas to shake up your kids, and try one out. Be consistent and stick it out. You might be pleasantly surprised. Be sure to share your ideas in the comments section!

* Image by Loutocky/Flickr.com

Image by Loutocky/Flickr.com

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About Chantol Sego

Chantol married her high school sweetheart in 1998. They have two teenage daughters and a farm full of animals in Western Washington. She has a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Puget Sound and works full-time in the finance industry. In addition to her full-time job, she volunteers for the board of a new non-profit that is helping to bring civic renewal and new town events and activities to her small home town. Event planning that supports family and community has been a passion of hers for years. She also enjoys coordinating weddings when the opportunity arises. Check out her site-- My Something New . Even with a full schedule, family definitely comes first and she enjoys being able to work with her kids on volunteer projects, encourage their passions, teach them about business, organizing, and planning, and be a constant cheerleader and support as they go about this "growing into responsible adults" journey.

For Power of Moms, Chantol has written articles, edited and contributed to "Deliberate Motherhood", assisted with the POM Pinterest page and social media support for the STEP program. She is so thankful to be able to be part of a group that supports moms in all areas of their motherhood adventure.