Homework! Not in Mood. I’ll do it later.
Promise! This coming Sunday, I will clean my room. But not today.
I’m Tired now! I’ll do it tomorrow.
Is your child regularly giving these excuses or delaying things and leaving them until tomorrow or some other day? At that moment, they don’t want to do it or delay things, and find something else more exciting to do. Making lame excuses, or acting lazy and putting things off until the last minute. If so, then they’re probably suffering from procrastination.
What, then, can a parent do?
You need to intervene to help your child defeat procrastination. Identify and understand the reasons for their behaviour first. They often procrastinate for several reasons, such as low motivation, finding work irrelevant, boredom, lack of self-confidence, poor management of time, anxiety and/or fear of failure. These factors may possibly have a negative impact on their academic grades, inability to participate in extracurricular or family consequences events, etc. Help your child learn problem-solving and time management skills. Help them start their homework/school work, split large tasks into smaller ones, reward them when they complete their work to raise their confidence and interest. Praise their efforts and see their errors as opportunities to learn which would help them alleviate their fear of failure and anxiety.
Each child is different and different types of strategies are needed for different children. Apply what you feel best for your child and for you.
Also, share your experiences and views in the comment section below what works with your procrastinating child.
