How do I get my slow poke daughter moving in the morning?

Question

My daughter just turned 7 two weeks ago. She moves like molasses in winter aaaaallllll the time! I need some fun and creative ways to get her moving fast in the morning so I don't end up sounding like a drill sargent! Also she is a very heavy sleeper so I have to wake her up myself since she sleeps right through an alarm and I have to remain awake to make sure she is still moving toward getting ready for school. If I wake her up early to give her more time and go back to sleep, I will find her in the same position on the end of her bed and she will be like "sorry mom i blanked out"! I don't want to have to get up an hour early myself just cause she is so slow and I don't want to have to follow behind her all morning either but I don't know what else to do. I have tried reward charts and that didnt work (although we use them for a lot of other things and they work great). Any suggestions? Advice?

She already goes to be at 8pm. By the time I get her from school and get home its between 5:30 and 6, then I/we cook and eat dinner, then bath time. There is really no way that I can put her to be before 8 unless I rush her through dinner and cut out story time or our evening talks and I would never do that. Plus I think a 7 or 7:30 bed time is just too early she would be going to sleep almost as soon as she walked in the door...

Also she is not spending any time picking out clothes and stuff like that because I bought her a "days of the week bin" that hangs in her closet and every weekend we fill it with clothes for the week and all the little stuff like socks, underwear matching purse etc. so all she has to do is grab the outfit for the correct day.

For all you people who are jumping to the wrong comclusion (like miss hoity-toity jenn a) I AM up w/ my daughter! I have to go to work unlike some other mothers and that is fine w/ me, I do work long hours though (sometimes 11 to 14 in a day) so I don't want to lose an hour of sleep sitting watching my daughter to make sure she is up and moving if I don't have too. i get up at 6:30 and wake her up at 7 and we leave at 8. I think an hour is enough time for her to wash up,get dressed, eat and clean face and teeth and feed her fish! I have been doing it for her if she moves to slow but at age 7 I feel she is big enough to take care of it herself. Thanks to all the people who gave good advice and did not judge me!

She does not drink soda (ever), I don't allow her to have it, she has a relativly healthy diet, i cook most of our food (nothing fried more than once a month) and she eats plenty of veggies and gets lots of excersice. She goes to a private school and they work w/ horses and stuff like that so they are outside a lot and my mom lives on like 4 acres and she is always out there running around.

Answer 1

Have you tried setting a schedule for her. Its harder to explain this in writing, lol.

Get a poster board with Velcro tabs and laminated squares that have what she should be doing on them with a picture(preferably a picture of her doing the task). For example, a square for "I Got out of Bed!", "I brushed my teeth and went to the Bathroom", "I got Dressed", I ate Breakfast", etc(every step to getting out the door in the morning).

Every time she completes a step she sticks it on the poster, place the squares so she can see the steps before sticking them on. This will allow her to see what she has done and what still needs to be done. Sometimes too many steps will overwhelm a child and they need to see it as one task at a time.

As she completes the tasks, offer plenty of praise and encouragement. Be sure you are allowing her some independence with the tasks; don't hover, just offer encouragement. If you see that it is getting late and she has more tasks to do, point out I see you still have "XXXXX" to do.

Here is an example I created to give you the idea, it is a simple chart, but of course add the steps that your daughter does in the morning. The great thing is, you can get the poster board and decorate it with her. Make it seem like a big thing, it may make her want to use it more.
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h179/Orion510/Chart.jpg

Answer 2

I know a lot of people will thumbs down this. BUT I wake my kids up and let them watch PBS kids while I take a shower and dry my hair, about 20 minutes. It makes a lot of difference in their attitude on getting ready if they have had a little time to wake up.
We then go and start on breakfast etc. with a time limit on each, I have set a timer before so they have a visual of how much time they have left. And I honestly check on them every 10 minutes or so and redirect them to the proper task.
I have also told them if we are tardy because you are being slow that is the answer I will give to the secretary at the school when she ask why we are tardy, it is great incentive.
I feel they are getting to old for me to check on so much and also do not want to sound like a drill Sargent. So I make a chart with each initial on it, if I have to ask them more than twice to get dressed etc. I make a tally mark and after school they owe me 10 minutes per tally mark in time out/bed what ever also very effective.

Answer 3

Can you put her to bed early? Give her a good dose of caffiene half an hour before you want her moving. Put her straight in the shower.

Kids that age still require the drill sergeant to help them get ready, so don't feel bad barking orders, one at a time, just keep it pleasant.

She cannot help how sleepy she is. Are you sure she falls asleep immediately when you put her to bed? If she stays awake until midnight (like mine) getting her up by 6am would be quite a chore.

You may need to consult your pediatrician. My son (17) can't wake up, even though he sets 2 alarm clocks across the room so he has to get up to turn them off. What works for us is that he has ADD, so he wakes up, takes his ADD meds (amphetamines) and then he can go back to sleep. He's always up and around in 30 min. He still manages to miss the bus.

Cheer up. You'll figure out what really wakes this kid, and getting ready for school only gets easier the older the child is.

Take care,

TX Mom
not an expert
Mine are 17 & 21

Answer 4

First of all, she may need to go to bed much earlier in the evening. Start to put her to bed a half hour earlier each night until you can find the time that will help leave her easier to wake up in the morning.

Next, make sure all of her things are ready the night before so she isn't wandering around trying to remember everything.

Then, in the mornings, have her get up right away and wash her face with cool water to help her wake up.

As far as the fun part, I'm not sure, maybe get some special "getting ready" things, or find a very special way to make breakfast so she will look forward to getting up and doing her special thing..., but only let her do it if she gets up easily...

Answer 5

I would just let her sleep longer. Allow her to take her shower/bath in the everning, make sure her clothes are ready on the end of her bed or hanging on the door knob, have her school snacks and breakfast prepared the night before so it will only be a matter of scrambling eggs instead of having to mix them, or pouring milk on the cereal, frying prepared pancake batter etc. My daughter is the same way, and I've tried everything. You can't even speak to her in the morning or she blows her lid, so I found this way easiest because she's not allowed out of her room until her clothes are on, then she immediately eats breakfast, brushes her hair and teeth and we're out the door. It's quick, painless and takes about 20 minutes (including the "five more minutes" of sleep we all want lol) Or you could start dressing her yourself... then make a point to ask her friends if their mom does the same for them... it's a little embarrassing and then she'll probably want to start getting ready just like her friends... if only to save face LOL

Answer 6

The first thing I can think of, is that maybe she's going to bed too late. I know with my 7 year old son, that if he gets the right amount of sleep, he's a bit easier to get up in the morning.
The other thing I do is let him know that I'll take him to school if he doesn't get up for mom, which means he's getting up and getting dressed usually by the time I have to tell him a 2nd time.
The other thing is threaten her with sending her to the bus stop or school in whatever she has on at the time, and actually follow through with it (part way)( I don't mean to actually take her to school in her unmentionables, but threaten to, then get her to the door with that) that usually wakes them up pretty well.
Let her know what time she needs to be leaving by, no matter how she's dressed.
And unfortunately, you're probably going to have to stay up with her until she leaves the house.

Answer 7

Does she drink a lot of pop? Try getting her off the caffiene. I used to drink pop at work before coming home. When I got home it took me 2-3 hours to fall asleep. I just thought I had to 'unwind' from work.. I decide to quit pop (haven't had any for 1 and 1/2 years now and I don't miss it) and surprise surprise I started falling asleep within 15 minutes of getting home. I rested better through out the night and I wasn't as groggy in the morning. I would take her off all pop and see how that works... If she does drink pop, she might have a few headaches and feel like she has no energy for a couple of days (withdrawl symptons), I know I did. After a couple of days with better rest and no caffiene my energy level picked up and I didn't require the caffiene anymore.

Answer 8

I think it would depend on what she likes. There are plenty of cartoons on early in the morning. Or maybe have her fave breakfast food fixed for her. That way she has something to look forward to in the mornings. I have read where children should get at least 10 hours of sleep a night. Is she getting enough? It seems like it would be easier to wake up if she has had plenty of rest. Boy, I wish I had your problem. My children are up extra extra early. And like your daughter I am not a morning person. Good luck with finding a solution.

Answer 9

Does she take her shower or bath in the evening? If so, move it to the morning. My kids were really slow in the morning, but a shower totally wakes them up. Even with the extra time for taking a shower, they're still ready earlier than they would be without one since they move so much faster.

Also, it does sound like she might need more sleep. Try pushing her bedtime earlier by 20-30 minutes and see if that helps.

Answer 10

ok have you tried a LATER bedtime?? It is possible she is getting TOO MUCH sleep - try 8:30 for a week and see what happens.. or even 9:00.

Keep basically the same schedule on weekends (allow NO MORE than 1 hour sleep in)
Make sure she gets LOTS of fresh air on weekends and after school...(eg more play in yard.. more walks in park)

Is she overall healthy??? Kids who are obese or eat too much sugars (candies and pops) and too much fats (fast food meals) and especially if they consume ANY Caffine (in pops for example) OFTEN have these kinds of problems..
Better eating habits will help them overall.. you should see results in 3-4 weeks as it will take that long for the bad stuff to leave her body... I am not saying she cannot have any sugar etc.. but she should definately NOT have any caffinated drinks...