My DS (4.5) consistently does a few things that create slow-downs in our day. I try to be flexible, but wonder if the way I deal with them could be better. Do you all have any advice/experience? Traditional parenting ideas haven't worked for me, and I feel like y'all know much better what I'm going through than my friends or family (or husband, even).
DS is slow as Christmas. Slow, slow, s-l-o-w. I have come to the conclusion that he does not do this to annoy us, but that is just how he operates when he has to move from one place to another. Ex: "your clothes are downstairs on the chair, please go put them on for school." (and they are down there because I originally needed to prevent a battle caused by making him go upstairs to get them, but somehow he got upstairs with-o me knowing. sigh.) So he lays on the landing and wiggles around with some strange noises and songs that he enjoys (thanks, wow-wow-wubbzy). Then husband will prod him with a stern reminder. So DS will grab the banister and start moving his feet down half on the railing and half on the stairs in an elaborate gymnastic maneuver, yet in slow motion. Half way down, he might turn around and get on hands and knees and perform some other contortion. husband getting steamed and barks and grabs DS by arm and leads him to his clothes. DS drops to the ground and wow-wows some more. These moments usually end up with me stepping in and issuing some kind of game-like challenge (a race to put on the pants, or a choice like "which first? pants or shirt?") which may or may not spur him to get dressed. Sometimes husband just grabs his pants, sits the boy down and starts stuffing his legs in. That creates a crying, more resistent kid for me to get into the car.
It doesn't matter how early we get up--he will fart away the time no matter what. If it's not spent lolling on the floor, it's spent catterwauling on the toilet--making up songs and rhymes, or playing with his breakfast.
I have tried to be the drill sargeant (time outs, for ex)--but that results in escalation that becomes physical and tearful, two times out of three. He doesn't care about consequences. He was happy to go to school with-o his shirt on last year. Gleeful and proud, in fact. I've gone so far as to take away privileges--doesn't phaze him in the least. One thing I tried for several weeks before the holiday break was to have him make his own morning schedule checklist with-required before-school activities HE wrote and drew pictures of and made check boxes for. LIKE A CHARM. He was up and dressed and pottied and ready to eat and we were always stress-free and on time with all boxes checked. For only about two weeks, though. The magic is now gone and he's back to the slug state. So that idea is stale. I'm thinking you all know the progression here.
It is seemingly a small thing to say "my child is slow as molasses," but it is creating a problem for the whole family because it not only happend in the a.m., it happens EVERYWHERE. Inside the house and out. Even in his preschool, for ex., when the teacher asks him to put on his coat when it is time for me to pick him up.
p.s. edited to add I can't get my siggy to show up, even though the appropriate box is checked.
p.p.s edited again to say that when I am logged in, I can't see my siggy on the forum post, but when I'm logged out and look at my post, there it is! ???
DS is slow as Christmas. Slow, slow, s-l-o-w. I have come to the conclusion that he does not do this to annoy us, but that is just how he operates when he has to move from one place to another. Ex: "your clothes are downstairs on the chair, please go put them on for school." (and they are down there because I originally needed to prevent a battle caused by making him go upstairs to get them, but somehow he got upstairs with-o me knowing. sigh.) So he lays on the landing and wiggles around with some strange noises and songs that he enjoys (thanks, wow-wow-wubbzy). Then husband will prod him with a stern reminder. So DS will grab the banister and start moving his feet down half on the railing and half on the stairs in an elaborate gymnastic maneuver, yet in slow motion. Half way down, he might turn around and get on hands and knees and perform some other contortion. husband getting steamed and barks and grabs DS by arm and leads him to his clothes. DS drops to the ground and wow-wows some more. These moments usually end up with me stepping in and issuing some kind of game-like challenge (a race to put on the pants, or a choice like "which first? pants or shirt?") which may or may not spur him to get dressed. Sometimes husband just grabs his pants, sits the boy down and starts stuffing his legs in. That creates a crying, more resistent kid for me to get into the car.
It doesn't matter how early we get up--he will fart away the time no matter what. If it's not spent lolling on the floor, it's spent catterwauling on the toilet--making up songs and rhymes, or playing with his breakfast.
I have tried to be the drill sargeant (time outs, for ex)--but that results in escalation that becomes physical and tearful, two times out of three. He doesn't care about consequences. He was happy to go to school with-o his shirt on last year. Gleeful and proud, in fact. I've gone so far as to take away privileges--doesn't phaze him in the least. One thing I tried for several weeks before the holiday break was to have him make his own morning schedule checklist with-required before-school activities HE wrote and drew pictures of and made check boxes for. LIKE A CHARM. He was up and dressed and pottied and ready to eat and we were always stress-free and on time with all boxes checked. For only about two weeks, though. The magic is now gone and he's back to the slug state. So that idea is stale. I'm thinking you all know the progression here.
It is seemingly a small thing to say "my child is slow as molasses," but it is creating a problem for the whole family because it not only happend in the a.m., it happens EVERYWHERE. Inside the house and out. Even in his preschool, for ex., when the teacher asks him to put on his coat when it is time for me to pick him up.
p.s. edited to add I can't get my siggy to show up, even though the appropriate box is checked.
p.p.s edited again to say that when I am logged in, I can't see my siggy on the forum post, but when I'm logged out and look at my post, there it is! ???