Back To School: Get Kids Moving
Kids can lag like nobodies business; a fact I did not know before I had my son. Someone should put that in baby how-to books, the, “Beware, kids lag forever” chapter.
In any case when it comes to back to school days, lagging is the last thing a busy family needs. To cut back on whining, feet dragging, and a general laze about attitude try the following:
- Have them complete least favorite tasks first: If little Billy likes to eat first and then drag around finding school clothes, have him get dressed then eat.
- If your little one is having issues with even finding something suitable for the day to wear, try picking out clothes the night before. In the case of super little ones, try this method.
- Create a designated school bag area: Hunting for bags, books, hats, shoes and more takes up years of your life (or so it seems). Create a little area where all that stuff can land, and stay, unless in use. Make it a rule that after homework, books return to the area. This doesn’t need to be all fancy like what you see in some home magazines - the hall closet or a bookshelf will work fine.
- Try out one of the many doorknob reminders available. For younger kids, you can draw them picture reminders.
- Don’t lag yourself. I remember when my mom would say, “Time to go” then mess around. It always made me think, “Hey, I can so mess around if she is.” If you say it’s time to go then get a move on.
- Rewards? Ok, I’m not the biggest fan of rewarding people for things they should do anyhow, but some kids (and adults) are just plain slow - that’s them love em, or leave em. A simple, “We can all go out for ice cream on Friday - if we get to school on time five days this week” may help.
What do you do to speed up lagging kiddos?
Tags: back to school, fast kids, get kids moving, get kids to school, get to school, kid mornings, kid time managment, lagging kids, reward kids, slow kidsRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Children's Spaces, School & Kids, Time Management
5 opinions for Back To School: Get Kids Moving
Michelle S
Aug 10, 2008 at 11:52 am
Great ideas! Kids can make something as simple as getting in and out of the car take forever. :D
I’ve heard of people who have their especially slow pokes wear their school clothes to bed. This wouldn’t work with my kids - they are sweaty little sleepers - but if someone is desperate, they might give it a try.
Jennifer
Aug 11, 2008 at 4:09 pm
I know, kids can never get to the darn car. I’ve heard of that clothing thing too, but it’s extreme, I think, and also, not so realistic. I’d rather work on skills that set kids up for life. I mean, hopefully as an adult, you don’t need to wear your work clothes to bed - :)
sherry
Aug 12, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Thanks for this list! My daughter is going into grade one so I took some notes.
On a non-school day, when she wakes up at 7:30 or so, she is instantly awake and ready to start the day. However, when she has to be woken up an hour earlier for school (our school starts early!), she is so slow and sluggish. I’ve found it helps to lay everything out after she goes to bed, I make her lunch so I’m not distracted by making it in the morning, and I also created a routine card to put on her door.
What we did was we went through some fliers together and we cut out pictures that represent the morning routine - a box of cereal for breakfast, a toothbrush and soap for washing up, a picture of her school uniform, etc. Each step was illustrated. Then we pasted them to a piece of cardboard and I wrote simple explanations like “eat breakfast” and “get dressed” underneath.
Until she got used to it, she would run to her door in between each step to see what was next. It helped a lot!
(Sorry for the book length comment!)
Jennifer
Aug 14, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Sherry - wow, you use a lot of creative tools to get your girl moving. I love the flyer idea, plus what a cool way to use old magazines - I may steal that tip for my green blog (course I’ll credit your blog). I like the greenness of it. PS - book length comments are a-ok. :)
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Aug 16, 2008 at 10:22 pm
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