So your kid rushes through their work
I was that kid - the kid that rushed through my work to be the first done. I honestly don’t know how my teacher read any of my work - my spelling lacks finesse (I’m sure you’ve picked up on that if you’ve been reading these blogs - thank goodness for spell check - but spell check doesn’t always come to the rescue.) and my handwriting leaves a lot to be desired.
I finished early and then I distracted those around me because I was then bored. It was on my report card every single year. My parents sort of tried to help me produce better work but it didn’t stick. I did jobs like that around the house too. Clean your room - so much quicker to shove stuff under your bed than to actually put it away. (My mom only let me do that once or twice.)
Funny thing - my husband is the complete opposite. He was the kid who chose to miss recess so that he could finish his coloring sheet or whatever project he was working on. His handwriting was tiny and super clear.
He is a recovering perfectionist and I am his nemesis. (Cue maniacal laughter)
Could this have been shifted when we were kids?
Possibly I know for me - every now and then I needed the teacher to give me pushback on quality and for my husband - he needed to know every now and then it would only count if completed on time.
Finding out how your child works best is so important and then pushing them outside that comfort zone now and then will only make them stronger.
Take a child who you may feel as timid and give them multiple opportunities to push themselves they may find new inner strength. As adults this is true too.
We can take this a step further and talk about diet. Our kids can easily get in a groove of eating only certain foods and stay there. I know kids who only ate white-colored foods…for years! (My love for all things gut health hurts with this one. Read more here.) When we don’t challenge our kids they can become more and more closed off to other options.
On the flip side - if you continue to share new and interesting things with them - they will learn new and interesting things. Take them to the rock gym, eat out at a new restaurant, watch shows about travel, and play a new card game. Showing your child that new things can be fun and that pushing yourself doesn’t have to be scary instead it can be powerful. (And maybe for you too.)
You may have a kiddo who is seriously uncomfortable with new things, I mean seriously uncomfortable. Having them get an Occupational Therapy assessment (or other assessment as I’m not a doctor myself.) might be a good place to start. Maybe it’s a sensory issue and OT can work wonders and it’s typically pretty fun for a kid.
So back to rushing through work or taking too much time - finding out your child’s style early will help with your interactions. If you’ve got a perfectionist who gets really involved in their current project then you’ve got some extra work to do when it comes to transitions. You’ve got to give them a heads-up that a shift needs to happen. “We need to leave for school, I know you’re working on legos.” Give them two options. “Do you want to stop now so we can ride bikes to school or stop in 10 minutes and then we’ll need to drive.”
If you have a child that rushes through things having a checklist with steps needed to complete is a great way to keep them on task. Breaking up a job into smaller tasks will help them as well. (1st the clothes come out of the dyer ✅ 2nd separate the clothes into folding pile and hanging pile ✅3rd hang all the hanging clothes ✅4th fold all the folded clothes ✅5th put the hanging clothes away ✅6th put the folded clothes away) The more detail you can give the better the job will get done. Otherwise, that laundry will be in a pile on their floor and they will be outside playing.
It’s good and healthy to push boundaries. It’s good and healthy for adults to do this as well. We actually can get along better with others if we are open to new experiences.
You got this momma!!! 🫶
