Right, I need STRATEGIES. I've had enough of my 8yo forgetting/losing things

[castille]

I nearly throttled her this morning. In fact I would have if I hadn't been driving when she admitted that she had left her brand new ballet shoes in the changing rooms at her show last week

Luckily for her someone found them and we recovered them later, but in the past many, many things have vanished for good, mainly clothes, and I am FED UP with it.

So we need concrete strategies to teach her to put things away/on her peg/in her bag before I refuse to buy her anything ever again and she has to go to school naked.

Any suggestions? Please?

Help, before I confiscate all her clothes

There was a thread last week about boys (mainly) being dippy and dreamy. There were a lot of us in the same boat but no fool proof method of dealing with it.

One suggestion is having a checklist so that she can make sure she has everything but even that isn't perfect as it relies on them remembering to look.

Do you have everything labelled with her name because things should vanish for good at school, at least, if they have her name on. Maybe enlist the help of the teacher to nag encourage her a bit to make sure she leaves nothing at school or if she does, she knows where to find it.

Sorry - shouldn't vanish not should. School isn't the Bermuda Triangle although sometimes I wonder if it is with my DS and his stuff.

organisational cards?
Does she need strategies to help her to remember rather than organisational tips? Such as picturing where she leaves things when she puts them down.

must be the age!
We got the wipeboard.. It's now in DS1's room and we spent 1/2 hour on sunday writing all the things ds needed for school, clubs, etc and when. It seems to be working. No problems at all this week AND ds is quite chuffed with himself for being so organised

She'd probably lose organisational cards

Most things get lost outside home and school - at swimming, ballet, other people's gardens...

Yes I think she needs strategies - she usually has no idea where she left things so she needs ways to remember not to abandon things where she stands. I can't use logical consequences, because she can't go to ballet without ballet shoes, I can't send her off to school without a jumper in the winter... so I am at a loss.

Whiteboard is a good idea at home. But what about elsewhere?

how about something similar on a key ring attached to her bags? even just a laminated tag on the ballet bag for instance saying shoes, leotard, tights then she knows what should be in there

Ah that's a good idea! I'll try that, definitely. And it should work, IF she remembers to read it and actually check that all items are in there before leaving...

(I even thought to ask her if she had everything after the ballet show and she cheerily said "yes mummy!" - I should apparently have opened the bag and checked myself!)

isn't it! quite pleased with that, so I'm going to do it on my boys bags too