Why are my Remindables not working for my child?
So your child has been using Remindables, yet still hasn’t learnt to pack their bags by themselves. What’s worse, they’re STILL leaving behind things at school and needing your constant reminders! And you thought Remindables would help!!
We hear ya! And let us tell you, we’re in the same boat!
Why? Because learning to be independent is tricky. Learning ALL the skills needed to pack your bag and remember to bring things home is hard! What’s more, our children’s brains are still developing and so too are their executive functioning skills (that is, their ability to plan, organise, remember, attend to a task, focus on the task and self-monitor - just to name a few!). And for children who have difficulties with their executive functioning skills, packing their bag is actually a big deal! There’s actually a lot of brain power and skill needed and we need to cut them some slack. So what should we do?
Who can use Remindables?
Everyone! Remindables has been helpful for autistic children and adults, those with ADHD, executive functioning difficulties, specific learning difficulties as well as people with a range of medical needs i.e., epilepsy, diabetes, hearing impairment.
All of us CAN learn to develop these skills! Remindables helps by using multiple modes of learning; that is, teaching a concept in a range of ways (through visuals, colour, text, hearing the words said by others, movement and completing the action using our body). Multimodal learning ensures that a child’s learning experience is at its optimum!
So how do we do it?
Well, there’s no magic cure! But as supporters of our children we can guide them by first showing how to use the tags. Children love to copy us. How many times have you heard them say something that you swear sounds exactly like it could have come from your mouth? The good and the bad - um, oops! So we can start by showing them how to use the tags rather than attaching them to their bag and expecting them to just know!
Limit the number - maybe place only 2 tags on to begin with! The most important ones!! You can always build on this. Let’s not overwhelm our kids right from the start by filling up their bag with too many tags. I started using Remindables with my daughter when she began 4 year old kinder. My daughter (now 5;6 years) is able to pack her bag, with me still guiding her. She flicks through the tags, calling out the items, and I then pass each item to her for her to then put in her bag. She will then announce she’s packed her bag —— and will then walk out the door, leaving the bag behind her! NO JOKE! That’s because that part in her brain that forward plans (“Later in the day, I’m going to get hungry so I’ll need my lunchbox” … or … “I’ve packed my bag and now I need to take it with me to school”) is still developing, so needs reminders from us until she gets it herself.
Learning independence should occur in steps. You may start by packing all the items in your child’s bag, with them sitting beside and watching. Then perhaps switch roles; they call out the items by flicking through tags and you place the items in.
Help or step away - if your child struggles, increase the amount of support you provide, and when they succeed, decrease that support. This is a bit of a balancing act.
Plan ahead - pack bags the night before to take the pressure off the crazy morning rush and to allow your child the time to develop this skill without the pressure of the last minute! Develop a habit of saying to your child when they first get in the car at the end of the day “Check your tags”. That way you can quickly locate the missing items before you get home - and hopefully soon enough your child will no doubt be sick of hearing the same thing each day! (fingers crossed)
Go backwards - it’s called backward chaining! You complete the last step in the sequence, then the last 2 steps, only moving on when the child can do each step reasonably easy. Give it a go! So the first step could be, the child takes the packed bag to the car. Work back from there!
Repetition is key! Effective learning occurs when skills are repeated and repeated until they are learnt and become second nature! It can take some people 1 week to develop a new habit, and for others it can take up longer! And even then some of us adults still leave our towel on the bathroom floor, despite years of our mother’s voice begging us to do otherwise! :)
One final thing ... don’t be bound by time. All children develop at their own rate. Hang in there! And if you have any other tips that haven’t been suggested, please drop them below! That way we can continue to help each other out :)
Lauren is a speech pathologist who has over 15 years experience working with children and teenagers who present with a range of learning and communication difficulties. Lauren is passionate about helping others and loves to find simple and creative ways to make learning fun! The blog posts featured on this site are written on behalf of Remindables and are intended for educational purposes only and to provide general information and an understanding on a particular topic. By using this blog site you must be aware that the information shown is not to be used as a substitute for therapy advice and you should therefore seek the opinion of suitable professionals to assist you. The views expressed here are the author’s views alone and not those of their employer or others, unless clearly stated. 