Organize Your Teen

TIPical Mary Ellen : Episode TIP-1404 -- More Projects »
Teen tipster Sam Holzinger provides tips for establishing order for your teen.

  • If you have trouble getting your teen up in the morning, try purchasing the most annoying alarm clock you can find and setting it up on the opposite side of the room. That way he or she is forced to get out of bed to turn it off.
PHOTO

Figure A
  • To keep bathroom time to a minimum, place a timer (figure A) inside and set for 15 minutes. Once the timer goes off, time is up--it's that simple. This is great for siblings who share a bathroom.
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    Figure B
  • Each new school semester's class schedule is confusing. Help your teen keep up by shrinking the schedule on a copy machine to fit in a wallet or backpack (figure B). He or she can also keep a copy in the locker.
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    Figure C
  • Encourage your teen to leave reminders on a cellphone.
  • List all activities on a large calendar (figure C), then color-code them. Use red for work and blue for sports events, for example.
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    Figure D
  • If your teen doesn't like to study at a desk, suggest using a covered bin (figure D) to study in bed. The bin is great for holding books and papers, and the cover works great as a tray.
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    Figure E
  • Keep a basket by the door at home (figure E) and call it a pocket dump. Have each person dump the contents of his or her pockets into the container for sorting before laundry time.
    • Guests
    Sam Holzinger
    Kid Tipster
    Phone: 612-819-6611
    E-mail: Danaholzinger@hotmail.com
    Also in this Episode
    TIPical Mary Ellen : Episode TIP-1404
    •Organize Your Teen
    •Herbal Spa Treatments
    •Wooden Crate Art
    •Tip of the Day