Chapter 42 The tyranny of the schedule: the rush hour

When children feel rushed, they seize the time on their own.Most of the time, when their parents say, "Hurry up!", they procrastinate on purpose instead, rebelling against adults.Showing inefficiency is a very effective weapon that children use against the tyranny of a schedule that is not their own in reality. Kids basically don't need rushing, but give them a realistic time limit and leave the task of keeping time to themselves: "The school bus will be here in ten minutes." "The movie starts at one o'clock, and it's half past twelve now." "Dinner starts at seven o'clock, and it's six thirty now."

"Your friend will be here in fifteen minutes." The purpose of this short statement is to tell the child that we expect and think they will be on time.Positive expectations can sometimes help.For example, we could say, "Whenever you're ready, you can watch cartoons until we get to school."