Spring Cleaning and Your Child's Special Needs

It’s officially spring and now is the time to do your seasonal spring cleaning! A few things you can do is pack away clothes, rotate toys, and update medical files. Spring cleaning is important to prepare for summer and to update necessary forms. You don’t have to do it all in one day and you can take your time through the processes. Here are a few things you can do to start off your spring cleaning.

1. Pack Away Winter Clothes. If your child is lacking storage space in their room, then this is the perfect thing to start with. There is no need to have balky winter clothes taking up space. You can throw them in a trash bag or a storage bin to save for next year. This can also be a great time to donate clothes your child doesn’t fit into anymore.
2. Update Medical Files. Do you keep a medical binder or folder? Go through it and update it. You can organize it by dates or by medical categories. Also, if your child is taking new medications or developed a new allergy, be sure to include this in your files. You never know who may need this information when you are not available. Updating medical files is a great way of bolstering your own medical records, adding what is relevant and ensuring that your own experiences are gathered in your child's medical logs.
3. Go through the Food Pantry. Especially for busy parents, food can be forgotten and expire. Go through your food supply and check out the expiration dates. Throw out anything that expired and bring out the food that will expire soon. You can also go through and get rid of unhealthy food.
4. Update Care Information. This can be so important even if a parent cares for your child. Information that your caregiver can refer to can make it safer and more enjoyable for your child when they are in someone else’s care. Go through the information and make sure it is up to date. Does your child have a new favorite activity? New allergy? New preferences? New medical information? Make sure to include all this information and to update it this spring.
5. IEP Meeting. Schedule a meeting to go through your child’s IEP. This can be a perfect way to end off the school year and to see if any changes need to be made to better suit your child. You can even talk to your child’s teachers to reflect on the year.
6. Rotate Toys. Are there a few toys your child doesn’t play with anymore? You can put it away to bring out in a month or two. Not only will your child be more interested in it later, but it gives them time to play with other toys. Also, go through the toys to find any that aren’t age appropriate anymore. These can be donated or stored for the future.

Spring cleaning doesn’t have to be completed in one day and can be spread out through the season. It may be hard to figure out where to start or what exactly to do. You can start off with clothes and then move on to medical and care information. You could even start with something that would impact your family the most and then move on to the little things after. We hope this list can help with spring cleaning or inspire other ways to organize.

If you have any questions about Cerebral Palsy or ways to begin organizing, feel free to call us at (800) 692-4453 or fill out our contact form on Facebook or our website.