Nicole Avery - Planning with Kids: A Guide to Organising the Chaos to Make More Time for Parenting

A guide to organising the chaos and making time for family fun.

Nicole Avery

Dedicated to The Happy Birdcage

First published 2011 by Wrightbooks

an imprint of John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

42 McDougall Street, Milton Qld 4064

Office also in Melbourne

Typeset in Palatino LT 11/14.2pt

Nicole Avery 2011

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

Author: Avery, Nicole.

Title: Planning with kids: a guide to organising the chaos and making time for family fun / Nicole Avery.

ISBN: 9780730375647 (pbk.)

Notes: Includes index.

Subjects: Child rearing.

Parenting.

Dewey number: 649.1

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above.

Cover design by Josh Durham www.designbycommittee.com

Cover images: Folders: iStockphoto.com/emily2k. Dinosaur: iStockphoto/Midhat Becar.

Pencils: iStockphoto/Mehmet Salih Guler. Notepad: SXC. Paper: Bigstock / JohnDavidHenkel. Images in table 12.2: Vector / Nevena / Vector / Nikita Chisnikov/ Miguel Angel Salinas Salinas / Vector / Vector / Vector / Vector / kaadesigns / Vector / Nikolai Pozdeev/ Vector / Riverstudio / Vector / lineartestpilot. All images used under license from Shutterstock.

Part openers: Janine Lamontagne / Anthony Boulton / RainforestAustralia / michelle junior / Kyu Oh / Bart Broek / Michael Flippo / Alexander Kalina / / iStockphoto: David Gunn / Talaj / Brandon Laufenberg / ElementalImaging / Shane White / DNY59. All images iStockphoto, except for womans handbag with cosmetics Selena used under licence from Shutterstock

Printed in Australia by Ligare Book Printer

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Disclaimer

The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based upon the information in this publication.

Acknowledgements

This book has been a team effort with roles played by family, friends and loyal readers of the blog. Love and thanks to my husband, Phil, who put me on the path to organisation and who believes in me, even when I dont. And to my five amazing kids, all completely different, who have all taught me ways to be a better mother.

Thanks to those dear friends and family who subscribed to my blog from the very beginning and encouraged me to keep going: Mum, Sam, Cass, Steph, Lesley, Janne and Murray, Ed, Cath, Tash, Carolyn, Paula, Catherine, Annie, Deb, Nic, Bree, Sim, Kerry, Belinda, Lou, Justine and Laine.

Writing this book has been my biggest organisational challenge by far and I had many fabulous people to help me with it. Thanks again to Phil, who took time off work and did stints as the primary carer so I could work on the manuscript. To the kids who adjusted so well to me being busier on weekends. Thank you very much also to those who helped out with school pick-ups, after-school activities and looking after the little ones to give me more time to write: Lou, Belinda, MC, Leona, Kate, Angela, Danielle, Peter and Cath. A special thanks to Karen, who generously gave her expert but practical advice throughout the writing process.

To the readers of www.planningwithkids.com, thank you so very, very much. The book wouldnt exist without you. Your loyal visits to the blog showed me that people wanted to read what I had written!

Included in the book are many planning-related quotes from readers of the blog, friends and family. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and allowing me to include your quotes. The book is certainly enhanced by their inclusion.

To Mary Masters, who saw the potential in the blog and helped move the Planning with Kids manuscript from a collection of blog posts to a well-defined book. To Georgie Way and Alice Berry, thank you for your enthusiasm, encouragement and championing of the book. And finally, to Sandra Balonyi, who did an amazing job of cutting out my waffle and making the book easier to read.

Introduction

As a parent, I use planning as a safety blanket. When the chaos of daily life engulfs me, its the constant in my life that lets me weave my way through all the school runs, the after-school activities, the washing, the cooking and the cleaning required to keep family life ticking along.

Planning with Kids is based on my blog of the same name. Its not a parenting book; its an organisational book that shares the plans and routines Ive created to make family life more manageable. If you read the word planning and shuddered because you dont think youre a natural planner, read on because I can give you hope!

When I explain to people that I wasnt always an organised person, theyre often surprised. Believe it or not, I grew up as a dawdling, absentminded, tardy kid a point often raised by my family and oldest of friends! Its also amusing that my eldest son is just like I was forever forgetting school notes, easily straying from a task and oblivious to the exasperation he causes me. At least I know its possible to grow out of disorganisation, because thats exactly what I did.

Before children

Originally a country girl, I moved to the city to attend university when I was 17. While I probably acquainted myself a little too much with the city nightlife initially, I did manage to successfully complete my studies and graduate with a Bachelor of Business (Finance).

I didnt have a plan for what I was going to do after university and I wasnt focused on a career, but I took the available opportunities within the large company I was working for and eventually found a job I enjoyed as a performance analyst. The role was primarily numbers-based, focusing on budgeting, improving productivity and reporting. It was here I learned about the power of spreadsheets!

The budgeting skills I was employing at work certainly werent being transferred to home and I was living from pay to pay. However, Id found my niche at work and progressed to manager level. Even with the extra responsibilities of my new role and the delegation, negotiation and time-management skills I was developing, not much was changing in my personal life. But it soon would.

My gorgeous husband-to-be, Phil (with whom Id been going out for a year), was far more disciplined with spending than I and he encouraged me to start saving for an overseas holiday. Without his push I might have never left the country, and travelling on my own was certainly one of the best things I ever did. My return home turned out to be the highlight though, as Phil met me at the airport dressed in a tuxedo with a ring, and asked me to marry him.