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Order in a child’s life

The need for order starts at birth; feeding habits enrich it, and give security to the baby. Order helps young children orientate themselves and their relationships with the environment; it also gives them a sense of the parts of their body and their position and movement.

 

Order helps their physical and emotional development; a young child from birth to about 3½ years relies on and has a great need for order.

Without order a child could not learn. From an early age all the impressions being absorbed are being ordered. Sounds and movements that are associated with food prompt a response of recognition. New words are being absorbed and they are categorised and put together, like colours, names or animal noises. The shoe goes on the foot, the feet into the underwear, the rubbish into the bin. These are all ordered connections in a child’s mind. 

After the child has passed the stage where order is essential, we can still help them by maintaining an ordered environment.

Have an area in the home for drawing or writing. Keep all the felt tips together in a box or jar and keep the crayons or pencils in this way too. Have scissors, sellotape, a ruler or anything else a child will need in a place where they can always find them and return them.

Keep their books together on a shelf. Have a basket or a shelf for them to put their shoes on and a place for their school bag.

Every parent will have observed how as soon as you tidy a child’s room they are into it! And the play is long and involved.

You can facilitate this by keeping order in their rooms and toy areas.

I am not suggesting sterile, ordered environments! But get rid of the huge toy boxes into which everything gets dumped. Try a simple shelf with an assortment of boxes or containers. Keep all the blocks in one box, the dolls clothes in another, the dress-ups together in one area, cars in a box and building bricks in another. When it is time to tidy up, the child can easily help. “You put all the bricks back in the box and I will put the cars away” helps give focus to tidy-up time.

Having a place for everything and keeping everything in its place will help satisfy the young child’s need for order, will minimise tantrums and enable the older child to find what they need and be responsible and independent.

 

 

 

 
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