First, one thing that many people notice about my children is their independence. This makes me happy because fostering independence is at the hub of my parenting goals. It doesn’t matter how many children you have, enabling them to do for themselves is a win-win situation for the entire family, and the more kids you have, the more their independence will be forced nurtured by older siblings and parents alike. We “crazy” moms of many know that giving our kids opportunities to learn independent self-care skills will make them bug you less feel important and capable which in turn leads to more twitter time for you healthy self-esteem and a strong sense of self-confidence. Hear, hear!
With that said, How do 4 children share one room, or more importantly, one closet?
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| Original label artwork by my brother-in-law. |
Not too long ago, I had one child and very early on I gave him 3 drawers that sat on the closet floor. I labeled one pants, another shirts, and the last Pjs. I also included his name and drew pictures of the items on each one. Not only was I creating a print-rich environment, I was giving visual clues to help my son learn the system. Turns out I was also providing a low-mess, accessible dumping and filling activity. When it was time to put clean clothes away, we first sorted his pile into the 3 categories, then we opened whichever drawer together, stuffed the clothes inside, and closed it. I did this with my son frequently back then, when putting clean clothes away was easier. At this point, I didn’t worry about folding and I still don’t. My first son is now 6.5 years old and he has taken on folding all on his own, just from watching me fold my own clothes.
When baby #2 came along, I decided to stick with this clothing system, only I bumped his big brother up one level to accommodate his taller height and to give him a sense that he’s moving up in the world, literally! Fast forward to today and we have 4 levels of drawers! And let me boast tell you, my 19 month old daughter will open the correct drawer when we’re putting her clothes away and will bring me a pants-and-shirt outfit that she wants to wear almost daily. If we’re not paying attention looking, she may even attempt to dress herself with successful results!
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| The Aums Clothing System…that’s catchy! |
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| As part of my goal to increase and practice our Spanish vocabulary, baby #4 got labels en español! |
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| Stay tuned for a post on letting kids hang their own clothes, too! |
Let’s face it, I may dream of nice furniture for my kids’ room, a wooden armoire or dresser perhaps, but the reality is plastic, stackable drawers. And it works…with 1 child or more!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
what a great picture you paint with words. i can see your family home and i've never even been there. your writing makes me smile.
you are a genius! my attempt at a clothing station gave me lots of areas for improvement. you have given me solutions! if only i had a family member who could draw so well….i might have to get my students on the job! ; )
also, this post is so fun and clear. thank you for helping us all!
"alivingfamily" Glad to hear this helped…thanks for inspiring me to break down how we do it in our family. I'm sure you'll find something that works for yours, and I want to know about it!
Christine, you are a bona fide genius! I have to try this soon!
Mama J@Mama, Hear Me Roar recently posted..The hour when Mother naps
Hey there! Thank you so much….please share pictures of the results if you do!
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