My daughter is a reformed dilly-dallier. Here’s how it all went down.
I was at my wit’s end with my six year old. Getting her to finish her homework (yes, homework in first grade!) before bedtime was a nightmare and getting her to school on time was exasperating. It didn’t seem to matter how early she started on her schoolwork or how much preparation we made the night before - she moved at a snail’s pace.
So how did I induce a miraculous change in her behavior? First, I established an hour earlier bedtime so I knew she was getting plenty of sleep. Then, anytime she had been unable or unwilling to complete her homework, I woke her an hour early and had her finish it then. I was strict with her performance; making her correct any mistakes and insisting on excellent handwriting and the like. If she completed her homework before her alarm clock went off, then she was allowed to go back to bed.
Honestly, I fully expected her to revert to her lackadaisical ways at some point, just to see how far she could take things, but always the inventress, she made a surprise announcement one morning - she liked getting up early and napping in. I didn’t! So, to nix that behavior, I no longer allowed her to go back to bed. Her schoolwork sloth was cured the very next day. It’s been nine months since then, and she regularly finishes her homework and gets to bed on time.
Getting her to dress herself for school in a timely manner took a little more creativity. I knew one mother that solved her son’s problem once and for all by taking him to school in his pajamas. Ingenious yes, but I suspected my daughter might enjoy it. One of the other classes at her school sometimes had “pajama day” just for kicks and giggles and I knew she was envious of them. Instead, I opted for a different approach. Instead of trying to manipulate her directly, I did it indirectly. On days when she was particularly slow, I would assemble the ugliest outfit for myself that I could muster. If she was ready in time for me to change into normal clothes, then I would. Otherwise…
I only had to threaten this action twice and never actually got to follow through on the total plan. The first time, I donned a pair of denim overalls, rolling the cuffs halfway up my calf to show off my stylish high heels atop white athletic crew socks. I slipped on a patent leather belt, useless though it was, and draped mardi gras-style beads and a powder blue feather boa (from my daughter’s dressup collection, I swear) around my neck. Then I tucked my hair into a floral shower cap and donned one elegant white glove and one yellow rubber glove to complete my ensemble. At first my daughter giggled, but horror washed over her face as I explained that I would be escorting her to her classroom. With a renewed interest and uncharacteristic speed, she was ready in plenty of time for me to change into normal clothing before taking her to school.
As I said, she tested me one more time, but I had such a ball finding colors that clashed, out of vogue fashions and mismatched styles, she had no doubt that I was fully prepared to walk with her hand-in-hand down the halls of her school - I was having way too much fun for her to doubt my sincerity!
