{"id":42899,"date":"2021-07-28T10:59:23","date_gmt":"2021-07-28T14:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=42899"},"modified":"2021-07-30T13:50:39","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T17:50:39","slug":"schedule-for-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/schedule-for-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Developing an Indistractable Schedule for Children"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do you build an indistractable schedule<\/a> for children? Why is it important to teach children about their three core responsibilities?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Nir Eyal’s book Indistractable, <\/em>he discusses three responsibilities that children should schedule into their days: themselves, their relationships, and their schoolwork\/chores. It’s important to teach children responsibility at a young age so they can better balance their lives as adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s what Nir Eyal has to say about building a schedule for children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Teach Indistractability to Your Children<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The second practical application of the indistractable model is using it to support your children in an increasingly connected and technologically dependent world.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people blame advancing technology for their children\u2019s distraction, emotional dysregulation, behavioral issues, and so on. Technology has been a popular scapegoat for hundreds <\/em>of years\u2014everything from the printing press to the radio has been publicly condemned for \u201cruining\u201d children\u2019s minds and attention spans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason we keep recycling this tired story is that technology allows us to pin the blame of misunderstanding our children on something out of our control, instead of taking responsibility<\/a>. <\/strong> This mindset is a huge disservice to our children, who need help managing today\u2019s distractions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no <\/em>difference between the type of distraction you experience and the distraction your child experiences. Like you, they need to learn how to have a healthy relationship<\/a> with technology\u2014but unlike<\/em> you, they won\u2019t understand the problem and find solutions on their own. It\u2019s up to you to explain what it means to be indistractable and help them develop indistractable systems that work for them. Help your children by coaching them through the four parts of the indistractable model: understanding internal triggers<\/em>, schedule-building<\/em>, reducing external triggers<\/a><\/em>, and creating precommitments. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article will focus on making an indistractable schedule for children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schedule-Building<\/strong> for Children<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The second part of coaching your child in indistractability is helping them understand their responsibilities and how to balance them. Explain traction and distraction<\/a> to your child, and teach them to regularly check-in and ask themselves: \u201cDoes this behavior make me feel good? Do I feel like I\u2019m doing the right thing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, help them build a schedule that will help them gain traction\u2014like you, having a clear idea of how to spend their time makes them less likely to make impulsive, distracted decisions. <\/strong>Don\u2019t forget the importance of allowing your children autonomy\u2014you\u2019re helping<\/em> with the schedule, not imposing it. Walk them through scheduling the three responsibilities of their lives:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responsibility 1: Themselves<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Discussing the core responsibility of self-care to children is vitally important because it demonstrates why their needs\u2014exercise, health, hygiene\u2014should be their highest priority. This will help them maintain their physical and mental health throughout their lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n