It’s never too early to start teaching your child how to organize! In fact, there are many organizational activities that help your child to learn and develop. Teaching your child how to help teaches them so many wonderful lessons. It’s not just about cleaning and staying organized, it’s about taking full advantage of that growing brain and developing personality!

Make sure that you use lots of positive language, touch, expression and reinforcement. Children actually produce growth hormones and have hormone surges that boost their learning power when they receive attention. Human interaction makes them feel good and they crave that feeling. They will do whatever it takes to get that attention, whether it be good or bad. So, it’s definitely best to give your child plenty of positive attention so that they can grow and be happy kids.

Start with something simple so that your child can experience the success and satisfaction of completing the project. The good feelings that they get when they do something by themselves is the same as when they receive attention from loved ones. Teaching them to complete tasks will help them to mature and entertain themselves with productive activities when you are unavailable. You can help them to get a grip on their emotions and exhibit less negative behaviors as they grow.

Make clean up time learning time. Help them sort things by color, texture, type, size or shape. Label small baskets or bins with examples of how you want things sorted. Let your child pick how they want to sort.

You can also teach them patterns while cleaning. You can do it with just about anything. For example, you can line up the laundry; sock, sock, shirt, sock, sock, shirt. Engage your child and encourage them to participate by guessing what is next or laying down what is next. You can even teach them to fold their clothes by making up a song about it. Use your child’s name in the song to get them excited about the process.

You can also teach your child how to hang laundry. Use small children’s hangers or infant hangers. Baby hangers are smaller than adult hangers, so they are easier for little hands to manage. They also will protect those precious little clothes from getting stretched out. Toddlers love to use tools to do things and using a hanger is like using a tool. Most kids love to hang clothes.

Teaching your toddler to help you organize sets a positive example and helps to prepare them for the future. You’ll enjoy the time that you spend together and you’ll also enjoy having a home that is more organized and inviting.

About the Author: Kurt Adams is on the staff of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of infant hangers. The right baby hangers, like wooden baby hangers and children’s coat hangers, keep baby clothers organized and children’s hangers are great for retail stores.

Children can learn good habits by age two that will help them to be responsible for the rest of their lives. Using developmentally appropriate games and techniques to teach your child these habits will make it a fun and enjoyable learning experience for both you and your child. Children love to help because they get positive feedback and attention from their parents. This alone teaches your child so many valuable lessons that it is worth taking the time to do it. Turning mundane household chores into fun things for you and your toddler to share will not only help your child to develop and mature, but also helps you to have an easier time keeping up with everything now that you are a parent.

Children and babies produce growth hormones that make them feel good when they receive attention from adults. Providing them learning experiences combined with positive reinforcement gives them the attention that they need to learn and grow. Children who are ignored will either fail to develop and grow or seek out ways to get the attention that they crave. This usually results in the “terrible twos” behavior that I’m sure you’ve heard about and dreaded. At this age, the demand for attention can be all encompassing for a child and they may give the term “constant attention” a new meaning in your mind! Of course, no matter what you do, your child will find ways to test limits and start to exhibit less than desirable behaviors. However, you can limit the instances of extreme disarray by always focusing on positive attention with your child.

Now, “always” may be nearly impossible. After all, there is a lot to take care of when you have a toddler in the house. This is why it can be extremely beneficial for you and your child if you find ways to involve them in the tasks that you need done. Let them help you open mail. Give them an old check book to help you pay bills. Let them toss dirty laundry into the washer and help to fold clothes. Don’t worry about it if things are not folded perfectly. Let your child feel proud of the job that they did. Teaching your child to make you happy will help you out in so many ways over the next few years! Celebrate, cheer, and offer rewards for a job well done. This reward system is a very powerful tool for you to teach your child things that may not be so fun to learn later in life.

Make cleaning up a time for learning. Putting toys away can be a perfect time to learn colors, counting, sorting, and organizing. Make sure that your toddler has a lot of successes and make it fun. Create games so that you and your baby can have fun, bonding experiences instead of constantly being stressed over how much there is to do. Install a low hanging bar in the closet so your two-year-old can reach and hang her own clothing. Children’s hangers are easier for your child to handle, so it’s easy for them to help out. Infant hangers and baby hangers don’t stretch or distort baby clothes either, so it’s a win-win for you and your child.

Just try to include your two-year-old in everything that you do all day long and you’ll be surprised how much fun you have together.

About the Author: Kurt Adams is on the staff of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of infant hangers. The right baby hangers, like wooden baby hangers and children’s coat hangers, keep baby clothers organized and children’s hangers are great for retail stores.

Cleaning can be put on the back burner when you’re a parent, that’s for sure. Between kids, work, meals and school, housework can become, quite literally, impossible. If you find yourself furiously cleaning for company or your kids’ play dates, then you could probably use some house cleaning tips.

The easiest thing to do is to include your kids in the duties. You can also make it part of their routine so that you do not always have to do everything alone or everything all at once. Accomplishing small tasks throughout the day is so much easier than tackling the whole house on one particular day. Make a cleaning schedule that you can stick to. Use these tips to make it manageable and to get your kids willingly involved.

1) Make a reward chart that displays the schedule and put it where all of the family members can see it.

2) Make the schedule specific. For example, throw a load of laundry in and start the washer before school. Load the dryer after school. Fold and put away dry clothes before brushing your teeth at night. For each task completed, put a star or other sticker in the column next to the kid’s name that successfully completed the task.

3) Have a reward system in place. This can be extremely effective if you have more than one child. Once they begin competing, you may see your house start to stay in order as if a magic cleaning fairy had moved right in.

4) Make the rewards equivalent to the job being done. A simple guideline is to make each task deserving of a star for every five minutes that it should take. Sweeping and mopping a medium sized kitchen might be worth three stars, but vacuuming an entire level of the house might be worth six.

5) If you see family members being reluctant to do certain jobs, then make those jobs worth extra rewards. Let’s say that the bathtub really needs to be scrubbed or all of your ceiling fans need dusting. Make it a special “Weekly Challenge” where whoever volunteers to do it gets a special prize. Money can be a big motivator here for older kids. Or, if there is something big that they’re working towards, like a new cell phone or MP3 player, then you can tell them that they can earn it by completing four Weekly Challenges.

6) A good reward system needs to be tailored to the people in your home, based on their capabilities and motivations. A two year old may love to wipe down cabinets and baseboards for a popsicle, and a teenager may mow the lawn for a later curfew on Saturday night. Even grown-ups can be motivated. Repairing doors, fixing leaky faucets, dusting picture frames and cleaning windows can be rewarded with a massage, a night out with friends, or a round of golf.

Rewards that make your children feel special will give you time together. You can offer a special lunch out with Mom for simple chores like hanging their clothes on their baby hangers. Infant hangers make it easy for little kids to accomplish what is normally a grown-up task. Let you child choose the restaurant that you may all go to. Or order the family’s favorite pizza to celebrate everyone doing all of their chores for the week. You’ll be bonding and basking in the glory of your clean house before you know it!

About the Author: Kurt Adams is on the staff of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of baby hangers. The right infant hangers keep baby clothers organized and wooden baby hangers are great for retail stores. For more information, please visit www.onlykidshangers.com.

It’s never too early to start teaching your child how to organize! In fact, there are many organizational activities that help your child to learn and develop. Teaching your child how to help teaches them so many wonderful lessons. It’s not just about cleaning and staying organized, it’s about taking full advantage of that growing brain and developing personality!

Make sure that you use lots of positive language, touch, expression and reinforcement. Children actually produce growth hormones and have hormone surges that boost their learning power when they receive attention. Human interaction makes them feel good and they crave that feeling. They will do whatever it takes to get that attention, whether it be good or bad. So, it’s definitely best to give your child plenty of positive attention so that they can grow and be happy kids.

Start with something simple so that your child can experience the success and satisfaction of completing the project. The good feelings that they get when they do something by themselves is the same as when they receive attention from loved ones. Teaching them to complete tasks will help them to mature and entertain themselves with productive activities when you are unavailable. You can help them to get a grip on their emotions and exhibit less negative behaviors as they grow.

Make clean up time learning time. Help them sort things by color, texture, type, size or shape. Label small baskets or bins with examples of how you want things sorted. Let your child pick how they want to sort.

You can also teach them patterns while cleaning. You can do it with just about anything. For example, you can line up the laundry; sock, sock, shirt, sock, sock, shirt. Engage your child and encourage them to participate by guessing what is next or laying down what is next. You can even teach them to fold their clothes by making up a song about it. Use your child’s name in the song to get them excited about the process.

You can also teach your child how to hang laundry. Use small children’s hangers or infant hangers. Baby hangers are smaller than adult hangers, so they are easier for little hands to manage. They also will protect those precious little clothes from getting stretched out. Toddlers love to use tools to do things and using a hanger is like using a tool. Most kids love to hang clothes.

Teaching your toddler to help you organize sets a positive example and helps to prepare them for the future. You’ll enjoy the time that you spend together and you’ll also enjoy having a home that is more organized and inviting.

About the Author: Kurt Adams is on the staff of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of infant hangers. The right baby hangers, like wooden baby hangers and children’s coat hangers, keep baby clothers organized and children’s hangers are great for retail stores.

Cleaning can be put on the back burner when you’re a parent, that’s for sure. Between kids, work, meals and school, housework can become, quite literally, impossible. If you find yourself furiously cleaning for company or your kids’ play dates, then you could probably use some house cleaning tips.

The easiest thing to do is to include your kids in the duties. You can also make it part of their routine so that you do not always have to do everything alone or everything all at once. Accomplishing small tasks throughout the day is so much easier than tackling the whole house on one particular day. Make a cleaning schedule that you can stick to. Use these tips to make it manageable and to get your kids willingly involved.

1) Make a reward chart that displays the schedule and put it where all of the family members can see it.

2) Make the schedule specific. For example, throw a load of laundry in and start the washer before school. Load the dryer after school. Fold and put away dry clothes before brushing your teeth at night. For each task completed, put a star or other sticker in the column next to the kid’s name that successfully completed the task.

3) Have a reward system in place. This can be extremely effective if you have more than one child. Once they begin competing, you may see your house start to stay in order as if a magic cleaning fairy had moved right in.

4) Make the rewards equivalent to the job being done. A simple guideline is to make each task deserving of a star for every five minutes that it should take. Sweeping and mopping a medium sized kitchen might be worth three stars, but vacuuming an entire level of the house might be worth six.

5) If you see family members being reluctant to do certain jobs, then make those jobs worth extra rewards. Let’s say that the bathtub really needs to be scrubbed or all of your ceiling fans need dusting. Make it a special “Weekly Challenge” where whoever volunteers to do it gets a special prize. Money can be a big motivator here for older kids. Or, if there is something big that they’re working towards, like a new cell phone or MP3 player, then you can tell them that they can earn it by completing four Weekly Challenges.

6) A good reward system needs to be tailored to the people in your home, based on their capabilities and motivations. A two year old may love to wipe down cabinets and baseboards for a popsicle, and a teenager may mow the lawn for a later curfew on Saturday night. Even grown-ups can be motivated. Repairing doors, fixing leaky faucets, dusting picture frames and cleaning windows can be rewarded with a massage, a night out with friends, or a round of golf.

Rewards that make your children feel special will give you time together. You can offer a special lunch out with Mom for simple chores like hanging their clothes on their baby hangers. Infant hangers make it easy for little kids to accomplish what is normally a grown-up task. Let you child choose the restaurant that you may all go to. Or order the family’s favorite pizza to celebrate everyone doing all of their chores for the week. You’ll be bonding and basking in the glory of your clean house before you know it!

About the Author: Kurt Adams is on the staff of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of baby hangers. The right infant hangers keep baby clothers organized and wooden baby hangers are great for retail stores. For more information, please visit www.onlykidshangers.com.

Self-esteem and personal image can both be affected by a child’s triumphs. Letting them feel like they are big helpers can have a long-term affect on their self esteem. Teaching responsibility will benefit them for the rest of their lives. Buying baby hangers may seem like an obscure way to boost self esteem, but making the chore of laundry easier for little hands makes it possible for your child to help.

Specialty infant hangers for your nursery can help protect delicate baby clothes while making room in the nursery closet. But it really goes beyond that. When you are teaching little ones to help with chores around the house, baby hangers can make if more fun. They are just the right size and are easy to handle. Your child will be proud to use their very own hangers when helping hang up their clothes.

Have fun doing chores together while fostering your child’s development. Fine motor skills are developed as they manipulate the clothing on to the baby hangers. It is good to work fine motor activities into your child’s everyday life. Making it fun just helps you and your child bond. Plus it motivates them to do more. If they have a lot of successes, they will develop a love of learning that they need to succeed in life. Fine motor skills help with writing, puzzles, crafts, typing, opening containers, scissors and tying. The list goes on and on, but many parents neglect working on fine motor skills with their children. When they get to school, it seems more difficult. Their self esteem and attitude about school could be greatly affected.

Gross motor skills are important, too. If the hanging bar in your nursery closet is high, you can place a step ladder where they can climb up to hang their clothes. This helps develop balance, bravery and gross motor skills. If they have trouble at first, let them use their hands as they climb up. Eventually you want them to be able to step up while holding the item that they are going to hang. Let them hang one thing at a time so that they have to go up and down the ladder multiple times. This will help develop coordination, body awareness and spatial orientation. These things are very important for developing play skills.

If your child falls behind in gross motor skills, they are more prone to injury. Children that are behind in gross motor skills are usually even further behind in fine motor skills. They also tend to suffer from more stress and anxiety. Fostering gross motor skill development will help with your child’s confidence, physical health and ability. Letting them maneuver up and down a ladder while hanging their clothes is a good way for them to experience balance in multiple positions, lateral awareness and large muscle group development.

Buying infant hangers or baby hangersfor your child can motivate them to love the responsibility of putting their own clothes away. Kid sized hangers will help them to realize that helping is easy and fun. You can take comfort in knowing that, although this all seems like fun and games, you are helping to give your child the self esteem and physical skills that they need to succeed in life.

About the Author: Kurt Adams is on the staff of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of infant hangers. The right baby hangers keep baby clothers organized and wooden baby hangers are great for retail stores. For more information, please visit www.onlykidshangers.com.