Children learn best thinking about real things that are tangible or kinesthetic in their early development. They create relationships in understanding, and knowledge by linking what they learn with their own hands-on experiences; and because time is not hands-on, we have to teach them. It’s critical that we blend their natural skills and talents with societal rules. This is why we help children learn about time by incorporating routines into their usual play, as play is something they truly understand. The key thing to keep in mind while teaching children about time is that the way they understand it now leads directly into how time rules their lives in the future. For this reason, it is important that as we teach the concepts and construct of time in the formative years, we practice with time decisions that lead to a future of success versus stability and stress.
They’re going to make commitments somewhere down the line that’s going to require them to align their desires with the cost of achieving them. There’s only 168 hours in a week; we need to teach our children the concept of making decisions on how they want to slice and dice that 168 hours to best serve them. Without this knowledge, we raise children to become adults that tend to be dabblers and vulnerable to other people’s decisions. They will live in the effect of having to accept what they get instead of teaching them that they’re responsible for creating what they want. The sooner that the child grasps this concept, the better they’re going to learn how to maximize their life and their time.
At this point, you may be asking at what age you should really start teaching your children about the rule of 168 hours. I don’t think that it’s based on an age; I believe it’s based on mental development. As soon as they can mentally grasp the concept of their participation in responsibility and learning they’re part of something bigger without losing the sense of their ego, then they are ready. It needs to begin with simple activities that are fun.