A child who knows that his knickers are kept in one drawer, his pyjamas in another and his T-shirts in another will be able to put away his own clothes and get himself dressed.

A child whose bed is simply made - a pillow, a duvet, a favourite plush toy - can easily make that bed himself.

As the Montessori method has proven, many children enjoy being organised and take pride in their own things. Drawers and shelves must be within their reach, not crammed full, and easily opened and closed. Never keep all of a child's toys at the child's disposal. It's too confusing.

Keep toys together in organised boxes and recycle them. Put a few boxes of toys in the shed, then reintroduce the sets of toys one at a time. For the child, these are as good as new toys. A child whose room is full of stuff cannot possibly keep the stuff organised.

As children get older, they develop pride in their possessions. Give them plenty of shelf space to display their favourite things, but also room to hide away the things they use only occasionally.

Kholmquist@irish-times.ie