The forgotten football boots and school folders have become a family routine: child forgets, parent drives across town, everyone gets annoyed. We've started packing bags the previous evening and placing a short checklist near the door. I'm willing to help with reminders, but not to become the automatic delivery service. How do you make children responsible for their own gear at an age-appropriate level without making one mistake into a huge lesson?
Helping a child remember sports or school gear without packing it for them
- parenting
- helping
- child
- remember
29
4 replies
Let the consequence be small and predictable. If the gear is forgotten, they help fix the problem, but I wouldn’t make it into a big emotion...
Let the consequence be small and predictable. If the gear is forgotten, they help fix the problem, but I wouldn’t make it into a big emotional event.
Exactly. No speeches, no courtroom drama, just a reminder that the forgotten boots stay forgotten until the child does the legwork.
I like the checklist by the door. If it becomes part of the exit routine, it’s less “parent reminding” and more “this is how we leave.”
At some point the child has to feel the discomfort of forgetting, just a little. Not in a mean way, just enough for the lesson to stick.