Morning dawdler
Does anyone else have a child that just wont get up out of bed in the morning or refuses to get dressed or just dawdles? My SD7 is the worse in the morning. She is constantly late for the bus because its usually a fight just to get her out of bed. Then its another 10-15 minutes to get her in the shower, takes forever and usually doesnt even use soap (I have to smell her when she gets out to see if she actually used soap!)then another 15 minutes for her to get dressed (when she decides she doesnt need help getting dressed which is rare). I really hate mornings. DH leaves for work at 5:00 because he has a good hour of drive time ahead of him and I am stuck getting her up and out of the house in the morning. She does GREAT in school and doesnt have any attendance problems so I just cant bring myself to "letting her miss the bus" because school is the only thing she is excelling at and I dont want to jeapordize it. SO, how do you all handle dawling in the morning and what is your morning routine like? Thanks
Katie
Okay - I fixed this issue
Okay - I fixed this issue when I moved in. The drama was unbelievable. But, you are not going to like my answer...I let SD miss the bus and made DH leave work to come get her and drive her. It never happened again. I left for the office and left her there...
Also, now I do not get up until my boys are out of the house. No drama. They do what they need to do and get out. BS16 is fine and always has been. SS13 is a work in progress. Deal is they have to say they are leaving and I ask if he brushed his hair and ate breakfast. He does it now. Earlier in the process, I would spot check him and then he would do it. Now he does it on his own....Not worth the phone call from me to dad. Not my kid, I do not discipline.
Um, I was a horrible, late
Um, I was a horrible, late kid. Missed the bus all the damn time. My poor mom. But now my poor mom is laughing her butt off because MY daughter is a horrible, late kid. She sleeps like a hibernating bear. It is next to impossible to get her up. Loud alarm clocks across the room don't even faze her, nor does pouring water on her, having a 90 pound dog or a littler brother jump on her.
Definitely get everything done the night before that you possibly can- shower, school papers signed and backpack packed, clothes chosen (including shoes, socks, and hair accessories- finding all these items adds up to lost time), in winter lay out all the winter gear, and anything else you can think of. Simplifying what you need to get accomplished in the morning is HUGE.
Letting her miss the bus wouldn't work in our case either, because although she is a good student, missing school would be a nice treat. You will need to come up with other consequences. Finally, in high school my daughter has turned around. I still have to go in and wake her up a couple different times, but now that there are severe consequences if she is tardy enough times, she has really shaped up. So I admit my consequences were too soft in the past. They need to really count.
I do have an alarm clock in
I do have an alarm clock in her room which I had to move to the opposite side of her room because all she would do it roll over and turn it off. Now she just gets out of bed to go turn it off and then gets right back in bed! I wish I could do bathtime the night before but she still wets (soaks) the bed so we dont have a choice in the matter. The way she eats, there is no way I would allow her to eat in the car. It's rare she has a drink in the car, it has to be a cup with a sealed lid to avoid spills.
Katie
^^^^^^ Oh Echo if I could hug
^^^^^^
Oh Echo if I could hug you I would. At the moment I get my BD(7) up and FSD(6) in the mornings. They both have a hard time staying focused sometimes but other then that they're not bad. Next year FSS(4) starts kindergarten and I know that he will be horrible towards me in the mornings. He's already pretty bad with his father now. Screams about not wanting to ware any underware. Doesn't like to wear pants because they hurt, even though both SO and I know that they don't. I think that your going to bed early because idea is great and would be very effective. I can't thank you enough for that bit od advise.
Oh yeah, the earlier bedtime
Oh yeah, the earlier bedtime thing. I forgot about that. My DS isn't as much of a challenge as DD, and that one works on him. Give me a problem in the morning? OK, your bedtime gets pushed back earlier and earlier until there is no problem. He
OH ya!! my BD12 IS THE WORST
OH ya!! my BD12 IS THE WORST ONE!! SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY!! She has severe OCD and must do things in a pattern or else her whole day is off. Before she gets up - I have breakfast ready for her; she eats and then goes back to bed for half hour or so. At which point I continue to get ready and get the other two BS'S in the bath and ready; while taking dog out!! SD14 Gets herself ready; thank GOD!!
I have to go into BD'S room at least 10 times to get her up!! She gives herself 10 minutes to get up and out the door - she looks like a crazy person running down the road to catch her bus!! It's kind of funny how she isn't even embarrassed of her looks!! :jawdrop:
Thank god she's pretty!! LOL
Oh ya........all this is while DH is sleeping!! (he isn't working right now)
Weekends are better for me as
Weekends are better for me as DH gets her up in the morning. Ususally that means letting her sleep until she decides to crawl out of bed on her own LOL DH has NO problems letting her wear her pj's all day long if she didnt want to get dressed. I dont think allowing her to stay in pj's all day is OK, she should have to get dressed like the rest of us, especially if we have plans for the day or if we are planning on having company over. She wil gladly strut around in her pj's no matter who is there without a care in the world. Talk about embarrassing for me. There are some things I can let slide but this is not one of them.
Katie
I hate to say it, but I think
I hate to say it, but I think this goes back to the DH. We rarely have issues with mornings. Mainly because they know their father would not tolerate it. They also know that they are responsible to get themselves ready, not me.
SD10 wakes herself up, showers, dresses, etc without my involvement. I make sure her clothes match and that she's not trying to wear shorts in the winter or something like that.
The boys decided to push the boundaries last year, missed the bus and I took them to school. When they sheepishly came to me (dad was @ work), I asked them what they were willing to do for me in return of the favor. I came up with a chore they hate. And they were late at school so had to deal with that consequence. And Dad blew his top when he got home from work. Not a good day for them and it hasn't happened since.
Thanks everyone for all your
Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. She is the most stubborn child I know OMG! Wouldnt a 7 year old WANT to be grown up and do things for herself instead of begging mommy to do everything for you or get you out of bed like your 2??? BM needs to cut the cord and let her do things for herself instead of coddling and babying her. Maybe then she will start doing things for herself but I dont see that happening anytime soon. I can picture her at 10-11 years old still being dressed and carried by mommy! Its sad when I see kids at the grocery store that are like 8 or 9 years old still riding in the baby seat in the shopping cart or riding in strollers! Walking long distances with a child I can see but at the mall or grocery store?? Come on! The next time I see that, I am going to take a picture and put it on the strange people at Walmart picture site. These "big kids" are riding in strollers and their feet are dragging on the floor. That should tell you something right there....they are TOO BIG OR TOO OLD TO BE IN A STROLLER!
Katie
Since my DW still
Since my DW still relentlessly babies SD17, she wakes SD up every day, and takes her to school if SD dawdles and misses the bus (of course no punishment or consequences for SD). DW still doesn't seem to accept the fact that this is retarding SD17's development.
Paul, does SD have a license
Paul, does SD have a license yet? I know each state is different but when I went to school (a LONG time ago lol) drivers ed and the constitution was required to graduate high school. I think that should be manditory personally.
Katie