Is your child taking all morning to finish a piece of toast?
Are they staring into space when you’ve just asked them to put their shoes on?
You’re not alone if you’re experiencing moments like these, perhaps every day.  

In my observation, children move at a slower pace than we adults in our modern society might be used to. Of course, we see children get so excited every muscle of their body seems to move, and they can run like the wind when they have the energy or the motivation. However, when the movement around them becomes too much or too fast, they seem to stop. They stop hearing, they stop seeing, and they stop responding, not because they can’t, but because they’re getting too much information.   

The irony is, if you want your child to move faster, you need to slow down. Imagine yourself like an anchor, supporting your child to be still and calm so they can hear what you have to say and respond to what you’re asking. See if you can slow your body down and move closer to your child when you tell them what you’d like them to do.  

If your child is taking too long to finish a piece of toast, consider why it might be happening. Do they need more time? Is there too much going on around them? Do they need company?  

Another thing to keep in mind is that children’s brains are very visual. This means they can process visual information more easily than verbal information. Can you help your child to understand your expectations by making them visual? You might do this by making a visual list of the tasks they need to complete in the morning or offering a visual timer so they can see how much time they have. What’s wonderful about these strategies is that they can foster the development of independence and some very useful executive functions like organisation and time management. Perhaps even more importantly though, these strategies can create the conditions for parents to slow down because they’re not having to repeat instructions incessantly, and instead they can celebrate the positive behaviour.

If you would like to learn more about this and how it might relate to your parenting experience, please feel free to contact me and I’ll be happy to discuss how we can work together to meet the needs of you and your family.  

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