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Natalie Weinstein, Allied ASID, IDS, is an accredited designer, acknowledged business leader, entrepreneur, author, media personality and motivational speaker. Her interior design firm, Natalie Weinstein Design Associates, has been creating lifestyle changes in homes and public spaces, decorating for countless clients since 1973. In 2001, the Natalie Weinstein Home Decorating Club was launched to guide "do-it-yourselfers" with a little help from a pro. Uniquely Natalie, a quality furniture and accessory consignment boutique was opened in 2014 to give every shopper an opportunity to create a beautiful home no matter what the budget. For questions, please call 631.862.6198.
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| What can we do to help our kids through a crisis we ourselves have trouble dealing with? What do we have control over that can give them proper stability? Clearly, it’s our home environment both physical and social. Designers have helped families find creative solutions to providing a nurturing sanctuary for children at home routinely. Now, these solutions are even more necessary, especially with an unusual school year ahead. So let’s begin with your child’s age and work habits because that will determine how much time you want them to spend alone in their room. Perhaps during the spring you already established a routine for school work which might have included your child’s presence at the kitchen table under an adult’s watchful eye, as they distance learn. Wherever their work day location is, it should remain the same daily, and be a place without interruption or distraction. To make life easier, set up a carry case with all “the tools of the trade,” from notebooks, to rulers, to text and homework material, etc., so that everything is at hand and organized. Order in the house, their school life, and the day can provide needed structure and help kids focus. If you are working from home while they are, try to schedule a coinciding break time so that you can enjoy some brief family fun. For teenagers, it is entirely feasible to make their rooms the school command center. Establish a routine for getting up, showering, making their bed and putting away their clothes. Have a designated location for work where all supplies and school related materials are located, even if the desk is not where they want it to be when listening to a lecture type virtual presentation. (That’s why the bed should be made!) Organization is the key to your sanity, if not theirs, but of course, it will help them have better focus. If the room is shared, rules must be established and an alternative location in the house should be provided equitably and comfortably. College online courses need quiet and concentration. A time schedule should be set up for all kids (regardless of age) to do their at school and at home work, while exercise time and family fun should be scheduled as often as possible. Sounds a little like boot camp? That may be so, but order and structure will help everyone take control of their time and space, especially when the rest of the world is changing and often unpredictable. Families have sadly become so used to being apart and constantly on the go, although now, with everyone in close proximity, a new lifestyle has re-emerged. Family togetherness has brought back the opportunity for conversation and communication. It gives parents a chance to reconnect with their kids at a time when they need it most. What better life can we give to our children today? That’s up to us – not the schools – the government – the world at large. It’s really the parents who will make the difference in their children’s lives – with or without the help of the outside world. Our children will grow to be adults of tomorrow, shaping the future of society which may be very different from the one we have known. What we teach them, by word and deed is …. everything!! |
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20 lucky winners will win $500 each in prizes totaling $10,000. 