UPDATE:
The winners are:
1. Eunice
2. Suzanne
3. Aly
Congratulations! Please check your email from me and bring a printed copy when claiming your prize.
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What’s it with today’s generation? I find so many of my kids’ friends into the cramming mode. And I must confess, my own brood get into this mode every so often as well! I must admit, there are just too many distractions these days.
A whole lot more is out there than during my time when we just had to be taken away from the TV. Now, there’s the internet, the PSP, the Wii, the PS3, mobile phones, and all other techie gadgets that can really eat up time, if you are not careful.
When I was growing up, my super duper organized Dad always ingrained in me the value of managing my time. I guess it paid off that I was nerdy then. I was the type who would start on a paper weeks in advance, researching, writing and re-writing it till I was satisfied. That discipline was honed even more when I spent over 16 years with the leading accounting firm in the Philippines. Tight deadlines, plenty of overtime, pressure and stress combined squeezed out whatever time management skills you had already acquired and if you were still lacking in it, forced you to develop some real quick.
When computers were not staples yet of the home, it was easier to drill time management into my kids — at least the older girls. At that time, I had a house rule: No TV from Monday to Thursday. They could only watch TV beginning Friday after class till early Sunday evening.
Now, with computers and with homework necessitating research on the internet, it is harder to clamp down and impose rules like “no computers, no internet”. The “no TV” rule does not apply since they’d rather go on the internet than watch a TV show (should I be thankful?). But how to control their time on the internet?
With great difficulty, based on my experience. Let me give you a few examples:
“No computers from Monday to Thursday” – Mom! Most of our assignments require us to do research. How can I access Wikipedia if you don’t let us on?
“Ok, you can go online but NO CHATTING!” – But Mom, my classmates and I are online and we are discussing our assignments!
So I am left with the only thing I can impose on my boys (the girls, in college, are pretty much on their own already) — “I don’t want to see any gaming windows open!”. Let’s see them come up with a retort to THAT!
More important than just imposing rules is giving them a sense of OWNERSHIP and RESPONSIBILITY. Ownership means that they acknowledge that their assignments are theirs alone to prepare and accomplish. RESPONSIBILITY is accepting the consequences of NOT doing it properly or worse, not doing it at all. I have always emphasized to my kids that I will never go to their teachers to play down or cover up for homework that they failed to do. They had to face these consequences themselves.
CONTEST MECHANICS
Anyway, here’s something FUN, FUN, FUN! And it’s so easy because it comes from your personal experience!
I’d love to hear the best time management techniques that you ever gave out to your kids. Share any anecdotes that you may have experienced in using these techniques and what the results were on your kids.
Just post a comment below (with a valid email address) and that serves as your entry. You can submit only 1 entry until July 20, 2009 (midnight).
The three (3) most unique and interesting answers each get one (1) Kids Watch Central watch for your little one. Kids Watch Central wants to give your kids a head start with time management. What better way than with a watch they can use to monitor time!!!
(Note: The actual watches to be given away may not necessarily match what are shown in the pictures.)
Winners within Metro Manila and surrounding areas may claim their prizes at GeiserMaclang c/o Arbee Panga, Unit 7D Tuscan Building, 114 V.A. Rufino St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Provincial winners will get their prizes via courier. Open to residents in the Philippines only.
On July 21, I will update this post with the names of the three (3) winners.
Many thanks to GeiserMaclang and Kids Watch Central for this TIME-ly contest.