Always misplacing things? 5 tips on teaching children to take care of their belongings

Do your children always come home without their pencils or water bottles? Do they often lose track of where their erasers, toys, or rabbit dolls are?

Children are generally not good at taking care of or organising their things because they do not have the concept of keeping their belongings safe. As they will not be held accountable for the missing items, or parents will help them solve the problems, the little ones rarely cherish what they have.

Here are 5 tips on helping your children get into the habit of taking care of and be responsible for their belongings.

• Let your children take what they usually use when going out so that they can easily tell their belongings from those of others.
• Label their items with their name tags.

• Explain the difference between “lending” and “giving away”. Remind them to get back what they have lent, return what they borrowed, and never take anything that are not theirs.
• Think twice before lending any valuables, money, or Octopus card to others, and don’t be too generous to give everything away.

• Help the little ones develop the good habit of putting things back to where they belong when they are home or after use.
• Check their belongings every night to see if anything is missing and ask your children to pack and check their school bags, books, and stationery.

• Teach them to cherish what they have as parents need to work hard to make money and buy them.
• Help your children have a better understanding of responsibility and consequences by asking them to find the missing items. If replacement is needed, buy it with their allowance.

• Instead of blaming the children immediately, find out why something was lost and find ways to avoid it in the future.
• Offer encouragement to your children so that they can be more confident in keeping their belongings safe and tidy.