Time is one of the most valuable resources. We should make our children aware of this fact early on so that they can develop good habits in various aspects of life and learn how to make good use of their time. Of course, this is also very important for adults, so I am sure that the process of explaining it to my child will also be a great help to myself. In this post, I will introduce quotes and proverbs about the importance of time, explain how to explain them to your child, and suggest ways to put them into practice.

The Importance of Time

There are quotes and proverbs that talk about the importance of time. Here are some of them:

"Time is the most valuable resource we have." - Theodore Pascal
"Time is money." - Benjamin Franklin
"Do not wait for time to pass, use time." - Paul Polius
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." - Charles Dickens
"Time is the greatest healer." - Hippocrates
"It's not life that's short, it's time that's precious." - Seneca
"Time packaged is gold, time wasted is dirt." - Western proverb
"Time is the most just judge." - Edmund Coke

These quotes show how valuable time is and what value can be created by using it well. Most of them are about the value of time. These expressions are good, but what I want to explain to my child about time is that it is up to us to decide how to use our time. I wanted to explain to them the importance of deciding what to fill their own time with by their own choice and doing their best in that decision.

Explanation of Time (feat. ChatGPT)

The answer I got when I asked ChatGPT 4.0

"Hello, friend! As you know, there are 24 hours in a day. What you do with that time can change what you can learn and do. Time is like a magic bag. You can use the time in the bag to get what you want. For example, imagine you study for one hour a day. After a month, you will have studied a total of 30 hours, and after a year, you will have studied 365 hours. Through this time, you can learn a lot and become smarter. Conversely, if you spend your time playing games or watching television, that time won't come back. So, to use your time well, it's important to find a balance between important things and fun things. And, time with your friends is precious. You can make good memories with them and help each other. So, use your time well to gain knowledge and make happy memories with your friends!"

I was able to see the tremendous progress of technology. It was really written in a way that children could understand. I explained it to my child and it seemed like they understood. However, I was sad to see that the use of time was expressed positively in terms of studying and spending time with friends, while playing games or watching television was expressed negatively. (Aren't games necessarily bad...? sigh...)

Action Items

Explaining the importance of time doesn't end there. Here are some ways for you and your child to put it into practice in their daily lives.

(1) Time management: Share everyone's schedule and use a calendar or scheduler to write down your child's school, clubs, and family activities.
▶ We use Google Calendar to create and use a total of four calendars, one for dad, mom, child, and in common.

(2) Setting goals: Set short-term and specific goals with your child. For example, decide which book to read this week or the number of new words to learn.
▶ We also set up and proceed through Google's Task feature.

(3) Setting time limits: Set regular times for studying, hobbies or sports activities, and family time.

Daily retrospective: At the end of the day, talk with your child about their activities that day and think together about what they learned and what they can improve on.
▶ Daily retrospection is still difficult, so we are planning and implementing a weekly retrospective schedule. We discuss and decide what last week was like, if there were any points to reflect on, and how we can make next week better. We are careful not to judge right and wrong, but it is difficult. We need to continue to pay attention so that we can proceed while forming sufficient consensus and without rushing.

(4) Time management games: Introduce your child to games related to time management. For example, games that involve cleaning up objects within a given time or solving problems quickly.
▶ This is a methodology that we use frequently. Interestingly, I have experienced many times that children's concentration increases and becomes faster when the timer is running. Even when they are reluctant to shower and ask if they can do it later, they start taking off their clothes! When I start counting down 10 seconds, they are already taking off their clothes, or the negotiation topic changes to ask for more time. Even if it takes 20 seconds, they will eventually take off their clothes and be happy with the result, which means they will shower.

(5) Encouragement and support: When your child succeeds in making good use of their time, praise them, and if they have difficulties, offer help. Encourage your child to learn and practice time management on their own.
▶ I am trying not to forget this. Looking back, I think I didn't receive much praise when I was young. (But I didn't get scolded either...) I know that praise makes even whales dance, so actively using this with my child is a great help to me. Naturally, it's not just about praising the child. It is also very important for the child to see their parents praising each other. Criticism is easy, but it closes people's hearts, while praise is difficult but opens their hearts.

Through these measures, your child can build a foundation for making good use of their time with their parents and develop good habits.

Conclusion

Teaching children the importance of time helps lay a good foundation for their entire life. It seems that a good foundation is not enough to explain. It is a way to become the master of one's own life only by realizing, accepting, and knowing how to use it. The quotes, explanatory methods, and practical solutions introduced above can help children make good use of their time and improve their quality of life. Parents can set good examples for their children, spend time together valuably, and help their children learn and practice time management. Through this, children will grow up to set their own goals, use their time effectively, and create a better future for themselves.

Now you too know how to teach your children about the importance of time and put it into practice together. Thank you for visiting the blog, and I hope your family will cherish time and spend it happily.

Thank you. See you in the next post!