Time management is a valuable skill. Perhaps one of your family’s goals for 2026 was to make wise use of it. Here’s a tangible way that parents can help their older kids learn how to think about their time and how to best use it.
Step 1
Before you bring your tween/teen over, gather the following items:
An empty container with a lid, about the size of a shoe box, plus a small book, a coffee cup, a couple pairs of socks, and some other small items. Make sure the items can all fit in the box with the lid closed, but just barely!
Step 2
Bring your tween/teen over and start talking to them about the things they want to do with their time, plus the other things they also need to do. So many things but only so many hours each week in which to get them done!
Step 3
Ask them to grab all the stuff you gathered and dump it into the container. They will do that and, chances are, the items will be piled in a way that the lid does not shut neatly. Point the fact that the lid does not actually close out to them, and ask them to put the items in again, but in a way so that it all fits and the lid CAN close. They’ll do that, the lid will close neatly, and you are ready for the next step.
Step 4
Explain that this is how time works too! Just as they needed to carefully arrange the stuff so it would actually fit in the container, people also need to carefully plan how they will spend their time. If they do that, then chances are they can fit most of what they want and need to do into their week. Important things can get done in time and there will still be time for fun and play.
Step 5
Get them an paper calendar or use your phones and together start blocking out their time with a system you will both be able to access. Teach them to put in the things they NEED to do first. Those could be things like homework, work on special projects from school, helping around the house, time at church, with sports, clubs or other activities they have committed to, reading a little each day, a good night's sleep, and family time…. Help them to estimate how much time these things actually take and designate the times and days those things will happen.
Then they can look at the things they WANT to do. For this generation that probably includes screen time plus all the other activities they enjoy but are not necessarily “required”. Show them how to look for the windows of opportunity when their needed activities have been taken care of. That’s when they can do this second category of more optional activities and pastimes.
Additional Suggestions:
Of course, don’t make the schedule and expectations so rigid so that there’s no wiggle room for the real life situations that come up. Or so jam packed that your child has no down time. And if, as you work through this with them, you discover that there really is no way to make everything fit, then that’s a sign to carefully look at commitments, make a tough choice, and consider dropping one or two.
Check in with them regularly, making changes as necessary, and help them to carry through with the time management plan you made together. As the months pass, your involvement can decrease. Your teen/tween will get the hang of it, not need so much oversight, and be on their way to organizing and using their time effectively.
Hopefully this helps you teach your tweens and teens the foundations of time management and prioritizing. They are important life skills! The process may very well have bumps along the way, but as a parent, you have planted the seed and given them some valuable tools. If you liked this idea, then you might want to take a look at Sean Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. That’s where this hands-on technique for talking to young people about time came from.
