‘Being on time’ is a trait that talks volumes about a person. It is the responsibility of parents to teach their children the practice of ‘Time Management’ from an early age so that they learn to appreciate the value of time. Ms. Madhuri Premnath, parent of Esha, Grade 4 at Ekya School JP Nagar was disturbed by the callous nature of people towards being on time and decided to tell her children on ‘ Time Management.’ Read on to know her views and perspective on ‘Teaching Kids Time Management Skills’
Teaching Kids Time Management Skills
After living in the US for 17 years, moving to India with a 6-year-old and a 2-year-old has been the most ambivalent experience for me. With both positives and negatives, it has been an immense learning experience to learn and unlearn day to day activities which are taken for granted abroad but have taught me so much that I understand the value of most basic things.
One of the experiences I would like to share was my daughter’s 7th Birthday Party which she was excited about, as it was going to be her first celebration in India with all new friends. The Invitation clearly stated 11 am – 2 pm – Drop off only and I was really surprised when I had 2-3 parents walk into the party at 1:30 pm and ask me “what time can I pick up my child”. I was clearly amazed.
Hence came in my sheer urge to teach my daughter the discipline of time management, no matter if it’s school or a social event, it is important for us to teach kids how to manage their time and respect time. Just like how we enforce washing hands, brushing teeth, and respecting elders, it is equally important to manage and respect this limited resource called time in a world where science and technology are an indispensable solution for progress.
I always felt that Time Management is synonymous with Discipline, it’s uncanny how we constantly reiterate to our kids to be on time to School, Tutions and Sports activities but are just the opposite when it comes to managing their time on day to day activities like attending social events and family dinners, we don’t enforce it.
Children work best on a schedule, as a mom of two kids who are worlds apart, I learned that schedule still works for both kids in many ways and helps us discipline and inculcate certain values in them early on.
We can start with simple activities like bedtime and reading time and slowly progress to being on time for social events and birthday parties and drop-offs and playdates. Just like how we give and take respect, we can respect each other’s time and teach our kids to make this world a better place.
A short profile of Ms. Madhuri Premnath:
Ms. Madhuri Premnath is originally from Bangalore, India and lived in the US for 17 years. She completed her MBA in New Jersey specializing in HR and MIS. After working in Sales and Recruitment for 10 years in Stamford, Connecticut, she pursued her passion in Pastry and Baking by opening a bakery in Northern New Jersey for 5 years. Madhuri moved back to Bangalore in 2016 to take over as COO of RK Group of Hospitals in the Electronic City branch. Her daughter Esha is in Grade 4 in Ekya School JP Nagar and she also has a 5-year-old son.
