Daily Tips for Families

Today's Tip for Families

11-06-2023

Motivate Your Teen to Get Organized

Ask your teen to get organized, and you'll probably hear “I am organized! I know exactly where everything is!” accompanied by a gesture to a sea of papers covering the desk and the floor.

Adults and teens often have different ideas of what being organized means. Your teen thinks it means being able to find something eventually; you think it means being prepared and ready to dive in to a task now.

The key to communicating is to put your idea of getting organized into your teen's words. Here's how:

Explain that your student has complete control over how to get organized. You’re not going to come into the room and start alphabetizing your teen's books. Your teen is the one who gets to figure out what’s important.
Provide food for thought. Your teen is unlikely to get organized just because you asked. So talk about what disorganization is costing your student. Does it make it harder to transition between home and school? Did your teen spend 40 minutes pulling together past papers and quizzes before being able to start studying for the big science test? If your teen were organized, those 40 minutes could be used for something more fun.
Explain that it isn't necessary to throw things out. Teens are attached to their “stuff”—the idea of “getting organized” often makes them think they have to part with things. Instead, encourage your student to use tools like file folders, sticky notes and checklists. They help students have what they need, when and where they need it.

Brought to you by:

Mott-Regent Public School

[School Success Ideas for Families]