How to combat kids' chaos and clutter



When my children were small, their favourite game was to pull all the CDs off the shelf and hurl them from their cases. Left unattended for the shortest while, they could create a scene of devastation akin to a hurricane aftermath. A shamefully untidy person myself, I was pitifully ill-equipped for dealing with the mess-fest of life with little ones, and the clutter began to mount.

I hadn't realised quite how bad things had got, though, until a visiting toddler brought me to my senses.

"It's very untidy in here," he announced as he surveyed my kitchen. I had to admit that he was right: my house was, quite simply, a mess.

I blame my mother for this. Ever conscientious, she had read somewhere that insisting on neatness would hamper my creativity. Accordingly, I was never required to stow away my toys at the end of each day, or even to make my bed or hang up my clothes. It's a habit that has proved hard to kick.

Creating an orderly house, however, can help parents' state of mind, according to the home organising specialist Rachael Ross (www.purelypeppermint.com). She says that clutter and disorganisation can have a negative effect on how you feel.

"Letting your clutter take over completely affects a parent's sanity," she says. "Juggling life is complicated enough as it is, so having a more organised home allows you to have one less thing you need to juggle."

Even if your sense of aesthetics is not offended by childish disarray, there's another reason for creating order out of chaos: it is an important element of keeping your home safe. Clutter on the stairs is an obvious tripping hazard, and anyone who has ever stepped on a Lego figure in bare feet will vouch for the pain it can cause. If your kitchen is disorganised, you may be putting your children at risk of accessing toxic household products and messy bathrooms can conceal further hazards.

Making your house safe for children is about more than just locking up bleach and putting guards on electric points. Ross suggests that you get down to your child's eye level and have a look around. Ask yourself what you see that needs to be cleared, tidied or secured; there may be more dangers lurking at child level than you realised.

The starting point for good management is clearly labelled storage. I fell into a classic schoolgirl error here. After the toddler's damning verdict, I spent a day organising my kids' toys into wicker baskets, each neatly marked with a written label. Then I remembered that my sons couldn't yet read, so none of the toys ever returned to the correct hamper.

Instead, Ross suggests labelling containers with a bold, bright photo of what belongs in it. She also recommends ensuring that all storage is at a height that can be reached by your children, so that they can get involved in clearing up.

Persuading your kids to participate in regular tidy-ups is, of course, a challenge in itself. The earlier you begin, the better, says Ross. "You want clearing and tidying to be a life skill and almost fun, so praise them when they have completed a task."

As your children get older, you'll also need a system for dealing with discarded toys. One friend of mine whose house is admirably neat is merciless; she waits until a day when her children are out and goes round with a black bin bag, throwing out anything she considers to be surplus. She has learnt to harden her heart to the anguished cries that follow the cull.

I never managed this level of ruthlessness. My own, more feeble, system was to get my children to weed out a boxful of toys once a year, to be donated to the school fair. If they had second thoughts, they could always buy their belongings back. They rarely did.

Equally hard to tackle is the problem of stains on the furniture, an inevitable consequence of young inhabitants. Here, prevention is better than cure. Insist that meals and snacks be eaten only in the kitchen to avoid food smears on the carpet and sofas. And if you have young children, plain fabrics are probably best avoided until they're a bit older.

Most importantly of all, however you go about child-proofing your home, remember not to let it stress you. A bit of disarray is part and parcel of family living. When you enter a room and find it full of empty CD cases and scattered toys, remember that it will pass one day. My own beloved, messy children are growing up fast and before I know it the only clutter in the house will be my own. I rather suspect that when they've left I'll miss the dismembered teddies and discarded clothes.

The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars

KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Results

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,000mm, Winners: Mumayaza, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)

5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m, Winners: Sharkh, Pat Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi

6pm: The President’s Cup Prep - Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m, Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle

6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Harrab, Ryan Curatolo, Jean de Roualle

7pm: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Gold Cup - Prestige (PA) Dh125,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi

7.30pm: Al Ruwais – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,200m, Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

8pm: Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m, Winner: Nibras Passion, Bernardo Pinheiro, Ismail Mohammed

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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega

Director: Tim Burton

Rating: 3/5

Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Director: Venkat Prabhu
Rating: 2/5
EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

Politics in the West

The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books

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The Perfect Couple

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press

U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES

UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh

UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith

GREATEST ROYAL RUMBLE CARD

The line-up as it stands for the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia on April 27

50-man Royal Rumble

Universal Championship
Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns

Casket match
The Undertaker v Rusev

Intercontinental Championship
Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe

SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The Bludgeon Brothers v The Usos

Raw Tag Team Championship
Sheamus and Cesaro v Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy

United States Championship
Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal

Singles match
Triple H v John Cena

To be confirmed
AJ Styles will defend his WWE World Heavyweight title and Cedric Alexander his Cruiserweight Championship, but matches have yet to be announced

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The Penguin

Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz

Creator: Lauren LeFranc

Rating: 4/5

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TRAINING FOR TOKYO

A typical week's training for Sebastian, who is competing at the ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon on March 8-9:

  • Four swim sessions (14km)
  • Three bike sessions (200km)
  • Four run sessions (45km)
  • Two strength and conditioning session (two hours)
  • One session therapy session at DISC Dubai
  • Two-three hours of stretching and self-maintenance of the body

ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon

For more information go to www.abudhabi.triathlon.org.

How Apple's credit card works

The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.

What does it cost?

Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.

What will the interest rate be?

The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts

What about security? 

The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.

Is it easy to use?

Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision. 

* Associated Press 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Racecard:
2.30pm: Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoun Emirates Breeders Society Challenge; Conditions (PA); Dh40,000; 1,600m
3pm: Handicap; Dh80,000; 1,800m
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Mile Prep Rated Conditions; Dh110,000; 1,600m
4pm: Handicap; Dh95,000; 1,950m
4.30pm: Maiden; Dh65,000; 1,400m
5pm: Handicap; Dh85,000; 1,200m

Results

Stage seven

1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24

2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s

3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s

General Classification

1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16

2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 22s

3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 48s

The Buckingham Murders

Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu

Director: Hansal Mehta

Rating: 4 / 5