The S-l-o-w Child

[Hunni Bee]

Does anyone have this kid...

I mean, this child does everything in super slow motion. Eating, dressing, art projects, cleaning up. Its starting to affect what the rest of the group does because some things we can't move on from until she's done. If you urge her to hurry, she moves even slower.

I'm convinced it's some sort of princess-complex, I-don't-have-to-hurry-if-I-don't-want-to type thing. Because I've definitely seen her hurry when she feels like it. Plus, her mother dresses her at home, hangs her jacket for her, fixes her food into tiny pieces, etc...so I'm thinking she feels like she really doesn't have to hurry or take care of her own business, because...she really doesn't.

What do you do with a child like that? I've tried going on to the next activity without her, and she doesn't care, she just saunters up when she feels like it.

[spud912]

Yep I have one. The more I tell this child to go faster, the slower the child becomes! I have no advice except that I praise heavily when the child picks up the pace. It seems to make the dck move faster

[Michael]

Some other threads on slow children: https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=slow+child

[youretooloud]

I am so opposite of that, and when anybody does anything slow, it drives me nuts... I drive them nuts too. But, I rush through everything, and they just take their time.

[Crystal]

Yep.

Some children (and some adults ) are just more "mellow"

Let her go at her own pace.

When it is clean up time and she is cleaning up her stuff, while everyone else is finished and moving on to other things....let her keep cleaning up.

When she is still eating, while everyone else is done, washed up and playing......let her keep eating.

If there is not a good reason to rush her, why rush her? We all do things at our own pace. Some of us (myself included) are high energy and multi-task, while others are a little more "calm" by nature.


Now, if it is prohibiting you from doing important stuff with the group and she HAS to move along, Take clean up for example.....Give her ample warning....."5 minutes until clean up time. 2 minutes til clean up time" etc. When it is clean up time, for a few days at least, I would shadow her and help her with clean up ( I always help the children....not extensively, but I am actively involved). If she doesn't start moving along more quickly within a few days, maybe having her start cleaning up (or eating, or going potty, etc) a few minutes before everyone else. Explain to her why, of course.

Good luck

[Hunni Bee]

Yep.

Some children (and some adults ) are just more "mellow"

Let her go at her own pace.

When it is clean up time and she is cleaning up her stuff, while everyone else is finished and moving on to other things....let her keep cleaning up.

When she is still eating, while everyone else is done, washed up and playing......let her keep eating.

If there is not a good reason to rush her, why rush her? We all do things at our own pace. Some of us (myself included) are high energy and multi-task, while others are a little more "calm" by nature.


Now, if it is prohibiting you from doing important stuff with the group and she HAS to move along, Take clean up for example.....Give her ample warning....."5 minutes until clean up time. 2 minutes til clean up time" etc. When it is clean up time, for a few days at least, I would shadow her and help her with clean up ( I always help the children....not extensively, but I am actively involved). If she doesn't start moving along more quickly within a few days, maybe having her start cleaning up (or eating, or going potty, etc) a few minutes before everyone else. Explain to her why, of course.

Good luck

This is pretty much what I try to do, and if this was my past situation, where I decided when we did what, it wouldn't be so much of a problem....but I work at a center/preschool, and we are pretty tightly scheduled. So really, she can't take 40 minutes to eat a sandwich or ten minutes to wash her hands...because she/we often have to skip or shorten activities to accommodate this. She misses a lot.

[caddyproviders]

Unbelievable, you individuals actually care for children and take a vendetta towards a child that takes his or her time. Wow wish mom and dad could see this complaint. I know I would be really proud of paying the high cost of daycare for a provider that really cares about my kid this way. Give me a break.

[Meyou]

Unbelievable, you individuals actually care for children and take a vendetta towards a child that takes his or her time. Wow wish mom and dad could see this complaint. I know I would be really proud of paying the high cost of daycare for a provider that really cares about my kid this way. Give me a break.

When you have a group of children waiting many, many times per day for one child I think it's a valid concern to post about. It's a problem all of us have faced at one time or another.

I agree with Crystal....let her keep cleaning, eating etc after everyone else is done (within reason) and give her a little extra time for other tasks when she needs it. Once she's being left behind to finish things up she may decide it's worth it to go faster.

[daycarediva]

Unbelievable, you individuals actually care for children and take a vendetta towards a child that takes his or her time. Wow wish mom and dad could see this complaint. I know I would be really proud of paying the high cost of daycare for a provider that really cares about my kid this way. Give me a break.

It's spelled 'catty'. If you are going to insult someone, atleast spell it correctly.

Second, there is no vendetta, the OP was asking what she could/should do to help this child. The 2-3yo slow poke is going to have to learn to go faster or will do terribly in school. Guess what preschool DOES? It helps children prepare for SCHOOL. My own SON is the slow guy in our daycare, and it's something I brought up to his K teacher at p/t conference and she actually SIGHED WITH RELIEF because I brought it up. He is now in advanced placement since giving him a timer and helping him time manage himself.

[daycarediva]

I would set a small kitchen timer, if you think she is developmentally ready of understanding that when it goes off, it means all done. Make things into a race, allow her to start early if it all possible (especially on meals). Those things help my ds.

For instance when I am still cooking dinner, he starts on salad and/or sides.

[Bookworm]

I have a DCG like this. I swear she pees one drop at a time. I started letting her go first so she can be finished by the time the last child is done. It's just her nature to be slow.

[kitykids3]

I have a dcb who just turned 4 that I have had for 3 years and he is definetly this! SLOW at EVERYTHING! Granted, it can be nice, but when u gotta get them all on the same task (such as dressed and outside), it can be a problem.
Lately we've made it into a game to see how fast can u ________. He doesn't like it when I ask if he's being 'mr. slow pokey,' so now he likes to show me how fast he can go. Don't do it often, but when I really need him to get moving I do.

[Unregistered]

I am so opposite of that, and when anybody does anything slow, it drives me nuts... I drive them nuts too. But, I rush through everything, and they just take their time.

I"m like that to this 9 year old I used to watch would take for ever to get her hw out of her back-pack and to pack her stuff and put on her shoes I'm like sitting there thinking "you are 9 years old and you are practacally jumping off the wall all time!" apparently exept when she is transitioning from one activity to another. maybe have a speeding dress up or clean up game/contest every so often. Not with eating because that is a safety hazard, but you could complement another child at the table who is eating in a timely (but still not too fast) manner.

As for mom doing things for her I would probably put on a bulletin board an artical on letting children do things themself because children who don't become less independent and less likely to develop problem solving skills- and tell DCG (or all the children) to ask their parents to read it to her.

Or just tell the mom "I notice DKG takes a long time doing tasks herself, and she tells me that she isn't used to doing things herself at home, so I think we should work together to give her some more responsibilities at home and at daycare so she can master time management"

I would also just move on from the project even if she is not done and she will have to finish it during free time, that may motivate her to work a little faster so she doesn't have to make it up.