What to do about son being so SLOW in the morning before school

[~HecateWhisperCat~]

Get some crazy outfits. Such as a pirate one, a clown, a cowboy...the more ridiculous the better. And tell son, that if he doesn't speed up, you will walk him to the bus stop in them . Bet you his speed improves.

[carlitasway]

Originally Posted by brianjb

My wife is at her wits end.

My son started 7th grade, he will be 13 in November.

For as long as we can remember, he has never been in any sort of hurry in the morning.

She doesn't like to yell at him and keep on him in the morning.

What do other parents do to get their young ones motivated to get ready in the morning?

We wake him up at 6 (6:30 at the latest), and he needs to leave the house by 7:30 to get to school on time.

Here is what he needs to do in the morning:

-feed dogs and let them outside. The night before he puts the food in the dog bowls and leaves them in the garage. So all he needs to do is grab the bowls and set them down. Once they eat, he just has to open the kitchen door and they go outside on their own.

-take a shower. I know that this can be done at night to save time, but his hair will look greasy if he showers the night before. It is best for him to shower in the morning.

-scoop the litter box. This is done twice daily, so we aren't talking like a lot of stuff to scoop

-eat breakfast. my wife makes him breakfast every morning


So that is it. But she is constantly telling to eat faster, to not take 5 minutes putting shoes on, etc.

There is no real sense of urgency with him


We need advice. As it is, we don't allow him to use electronics during the week. So he can't play video games or on his computer. Unless he needs to go online for school, of course.

What kind of consequences can we give him?

This is so my son and these were our mornings when he was in public school. I can't say that I miss them. Homeschooling eliminated all of that for me but I don't know if your wife wants to go that far to make it stop

[somebodynew]

Originally Posted by Lucidkitty

Get some crazy outfits. Such as a pirate one, a clown, a cowboy...the more ridiculous the better. And tell son, that if he doesn't speed up, you will walk him to the bus stop in them . Bet you his speed improves.

Good reminder about keeping humor in the discipline tool kit!

[Siggy20]

Originally Posted by Lucidkitty

Get some crazy outfits. Such as a pirate one, a clown, a cowboy...the more ridiculous the better. And tell son, that if he doesn't speed up, you will walk him to the bus stop in them . Bet you his speed improves.

Absolutely brilliant!! I love it.

I've threatened the bus stop routine with my daughter....not crazy outfits....but if we are having a tough morning session, threatening to take her to the bus and see her off the bus usually squashes whatever problems we've been having. The kiss of death for a Middle Schooler, lol.

Now that I think of it, I have a hideous mu mu given to me by my father...it is so ugly that I can't get rid of it. Perhaps that will be my outfit....

[Gettingouttahere]

Love the idea of a crazy costume. Middle schoolers are MORTIFIED by their parents.
I would try this one -- usual expectations, usual wakeup time, but greet him/wake him up in the mumu or pirate costume or whatever. Say cheerfully that if he isn't ready by the time he's supposed to be ready, you'll be walking him to the bus/driving him to school/whatever it takes to be seen in public with him.

And watch that dude FLY....