Have You Checked Your Children’s Backpacks? They’re So MESSY!
‘Alamak, soooooooo heavyyyy. What are you bringinggg?’
Well, it’s time to try, moms and dads. Try lifting your children’s bags and see how much energy that you need to carry them.
Is it heavy? Hefty? Or light? Too light maybe?
Now, try checking what’s inside.
How many books are there? 5? 20? What are other things you can find besides books? Do we hear pencil boxes? How about rocks? Just kidding… hehe.
Some children tend to throw everything inside their bag without the effort of organizing them. Some others would organize them only to find that 5 weeks later, they give up and put everything in. There are even a few who are lazy to follow their timetables and prefer to stack all of the books inside that one bag.
The solution to this is YOU. Yes, as a parent, you have the power to make their lives better and more organized.
The backpack may be seen as something of less significance to us but it’s actually an important link between home and school for your children. If not organized, their backpack can become a clutter of rubbish and torn papers over time.
Making sure that backpacks are organized is important so that they don’t channel much energy on finding stuff and focus more in the classroom.
Here are some suggestions for organizing your children’s backpacks.
Schedule a Regular Time for the Timetable
If your children are lazy, tell them that it would only take about 5 to 10 minutes. Yes, it’s not long!
Getting organized is one thing. But staying consistent on getting organized is another thing. Many children feel uninspired doing this routine especially on a Sunday night.
Convince them that bringing books according to the timetable is a healthy routine that can make themselves be disciplined and organized. This can also be a great thing as crumbs, tissues or debris won’t build up in the backpacks as your children are always tidying up their belongings.
Find a System that Works
Every child has different thoughts and processes. Some children are independent enough to organize their backpacks on their own according to their creativity. Some others may need a helping hand with their backpacks before they can organize their own.
Get to know your children in what ways make them feel excited when it comes to organizing their timetables. What time of day your children are comfortable doing their timetables? Does your child love using folders or binders to organize papers in their bags?
These questions are important because it keeps them invested to keep up with the backpack ritual. They might even be enjoying their time packing all the stuff.
Textbooks? Keep ‘em at Home.
We know that the biggest contributor to the weight of your children’s backpacks is the textbooks. Yes, THE textbooks.
Some children prefer to bring everything to the school. This means carrying all textbooks to school. Why? Because they don’t have the energy to go through the timetable every day.
Here’s the thing, bringing every textbook is unnecessary and it will only burden your children. Keep some of them at home. Check their timetable and only bring what’s needed. Ask your children to check with their teachers if the textbooks will be used. Some teachers would just opt out from using them as each of them have their own ways of teaching.
Generally speaking, textbooks most often used are Sejarah & Pendidikan Agama Islam whereas those that are used rarely are Bahasa Malaysia & Bahasa Inggeris. It’s also okay for you to check with the teachers if you have the chance to come by the school.
Do This Every Once a Month…
Sometimes, your children will have special events happening at their school; sports day, gotong-royong and cross-country day. During these days, your children may clutter some of the things they receive in their backpacks. This can be papers, straws or pencils resulting in a messier space in their bags.
Hence, it’s crucial for you and your children to declutter everything and clean up their bags every month. Yes, we mean empty everything before you segregate into piles such as school supplies, textbooks and notebooks.
Don’t be surprised if you witness junks or any other God knows what stuff that has been inside your children’s backpacks. Decluttering it at the end of the month is good as the bags will be as new as the first day they are back to school again!
Written by:
Ian Firdaus
