Time management chart for kids

Time is unforgivable. Time is no respecter of persons. It goes by even during a pandemic. What we do with the time we have is completely up to us. 

In a June 2020 survey*, 62 percent of parents to U.S. teens aged 14 to 17 years stated that their kids were spending more than four hours per day on electronic devices since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the pandemic triggered a rise in the use of electronic devices among American children under 13 and teenagers with screentime now double that of what it used to be across all age groups.

I believe that we all took liberties in 2020 with our time. We allowed our kids to do the same. In 2021, I am trying to push forward from all the pandemic brought. How do I do? I focus on the only time guaranteed: 24 hours.

For the past few summers, I teach my kids about time management. The teacher learns twice, which is great for me. 

This time, we started with an overview of Bible study. Starting anything focusing on God is important. He created time. He is the Master of time. He can give us wisdom in time management. 

I make a pie chart which represents some of the ways we spend our time. We start with sleep. Without proper sleep, nothing else in the chart works well. We continued with other things we do such as eat, swim, music, Portuguese lessons, etc. 

The good thing about making a chart is that you can notice what's not there. In our case, devotional (ops!). We quickly included it. We eat a lot of rice and black beans so we used the beans to represent 24 hours. Each child filled the different time slots. I asked them, what's missing from the chart? Technology right?

We talked about unwise ways to use technology. Some people use it by not sleeping enough. Others, but not doing other things essential to optimal living. I then asked the kids if they knew how to use technology wisely. The littlest said we can limit the time to 1 hour. The other kids said we can combine it with something we are doing already such as listen to music while walking outdoors. 

We all felt encouraged about our time usage plan. I told the kids that time management they would use for the rest of their lives. I also told them it was important to look at the goal behind the way we were dividing our time. 

We want to be good stewards of the life God is graciously giving us. 

How are you and your family using your time these days?

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