In article .com,
"S_S" wrote:

My 7 year old (almost 8) is just driving us nuts by his absent
mindeness - I mean the type of behavior where we ask him to put on his
shoes, 5 min later we remind him, he still is playing around and then 5
min later we remind him and by the fourth time, I lose my patience and
raise my voice...

This seems to apply to most routine tasks - brushing teeth, getting
dressed, setting the table. He has basically learned to tune us out
till the final raised voice reminder.

I'm thinking of using a chart to remind him what his daily tasks are
with a penalty of an 5 min earlier bed time for each task not completed
on time and fully. I hate to be soo regimented, but it seems to me
that is better than feeling like I'm always yelling at him.

Any other ideas for getting through these daily chores with a minimum
of fuss and nagging?

Thanks!


Mostly, don't give him a chance to fail. That is, the FIRST time you
tell him to put his shoes on, if he doesn't do it, hand him his shoes,
or otherwise physically remind him that he needs to put his shoes on.

He HAS learned that he can safely ignore you for several rounds. It's
a royal PIA, but more effective to physically enforce what he needs to
do the first time you tell him. I don't mean punish him or get into a
tussle, but somehow get down to his level and, if necessary, move his
body (gently) or otherwise get him moving in the proper direction.

If that doesn't work, he isn't just tuning you out.

I'm also told the Magic 1-2-3 program works for things like this, but my
kids were older when that came out, and I'm not as familiar with it.
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care