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How do you handle pre-school aged kids' dilly dallying

KT&JohnKT&John member
in Georgia Babies

I know "dilly dallying" is an old person term, but it is the most accurate one I can think of.

We are dealing with this big time right now, especially in the mornings trying to get out the door to work/daycare. Cadence will try to draw every little morning task out as long as possible. Techniques include, saying every body part she can think of hurts, insisting basic things like teeth brushing and putting on clothes be done in her own special order, and outright refusing to cooperate.

I know it is important to teach her to be self sufficient and I will let her pick out her own panties and put them on, have a turn at brushing her teeth, and even attempt to put her own clothes on. However, when she starts purposefully taking forever I warn her that I will have to take over, and if she doesn't get a move on I do everything for her. She cries and is very upset when I take over.

I know this probably isn't the best approach, but I don't know what else to do to not be an hour late everyday. What do you do?

Pregnancy Ticker


DD- 9
DS-6
c/p- April 2016
missed m/c- 6w5d; discovered 8w2d- September 2016

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Re: How do you handle pre-school aged kids' dilly dallying

  • missmlpmissmlp member

    Oh I know what you mean and being pregnant does not help.  My problem is Connor does not want to get up.  What really helps me is I set out his clothes, underclothes, socks, shoes, etc. the night before so there is no question on what he is wearing.  Then in the morning my husband gets him up and takes him to the potty then I take over.  Most times he is still sleepy and fights because he doesn't want to get up so I try to put his clothes on while he is still groggy, then I go for washing the face and brushing his teeth.  I must say it was so much easier when he was a baby because he would wake up happy and be ready to go and I didn't have to fight with an octupus when putting clothes on.  GL!

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  • KerrinKerrin member

    I get them up 30 minutes before we need to leave.  Lay out all their clothes and explain (every day) what i need them to do.  Go potty, take your pjs off, put your clothes on, socks and shoes.  I have their toothbrushes ready with toothpaste.  I also reward (bribe) a good speedy performance in the morning with 2 m&m's.  Whatever works.

    I let them brush on their own for 2-3 minutes.  Then it's mommy's turn.  I also explain to them that if we don't get to school by a certain time b/c they are dilly-dallying, then they will miss breakfast.

    So basically i give them sufficient time to do everything.  Some mornings they are really good.  Other mornings, I'm yelling b/c we're late and have to do everything for them.  I do check on them every 10 minutes or so to try to keep them on task.

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  • KT&JohnKT&John member

    Michelle- oh my yes, being PG does complicate things in the morning for sure!

    Kerrin- I do almost the exact same thing except I stay with her almost the whole time. I will try backing off and checking in and see if that helps make it less of a fight. I also have not tried rewarding a speedy performance.

    Thanks for sharing ladies!

    Pregnancy Ticker


    DD- 9
    DS-6
    c/p- April 2016
    missed m/c- 6w5d; discovered 8w2d- September 2016

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  • slwprincessslwprincess member
    Similar to the others- I let Gavin choose between 2 outfits but we do it the night before.  We also talk about what we need to do in the morning during bedtime.  Also, he is not a good waker (neither am I!) so we have 5 minutes of snuggle time in the morning.  First I lay down with him and start talking to him, rubbing his back, whatever.  Then I sit him up and hug him but getting him upright is the most important thing.  Usually after a minute or so he will start waking up enough to answer questions like- do you want milk or juice?  Do you want your blue or black shoes?  Etc.  We still help him get dressed, which we really need to stop doing.  He CAN do it, just chooses not to.  So that's our area of improvement.  Oh, and I also have all of his breakfast/lunch school stuff together the night before so that saves US time if we need to spend more time helping him.

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  • Mrs MannersMrs Manners member
    I'm thinking of getting a timer and trying to "beat the buzzer". It probably won't work all the time but if it's effective some mornings then it's a win. The sand timer hourglass the dentist gave us for timing tooth brushing has been far more effective than I ever would have guessed.
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  • dc2atldc2atl

    Pretty much by getting annoyed and yelling a lot which totally doesn't help!  ;)

    Really, I lay everything out the night before and then try to go with the flow in the morning.  You need to have your blankie?  Sure.  You want to put on a different shirt that doesn't match?  Whatever.  I try to pick my battles.  It's not worth it to me to have a fight b/c his shirt doesn't match if he's decided that it's the one he's wearing (rather than the matching one I picked out). 

    I know it sounds simple, but leave yourself a lot of time and try to take a lot of deep breaths.  :)

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