One of the most important things in life that all parents want their children to learn is punctuality. Punctuality is a vital skill for children to succeed in life and needs to be taught early. Punctual children grew up to be more responsible and have a higher confidence level.
Punctuality enables children to attend school on time, stay focused and get better grades. It is key to performing well! So no matter how much you are absorbed in your personal and professional life, as a responsible parent it is your duty to raise punctual children. Here are five of the easiest ways that can help you achieve this goal.
- Show your punctual side: Leading by example is the best way to inculcate a habit in your child. Every child looks up to her / his parents, observes their actions, and learns the most things from them – including both good and bad. When you do something good, she/he is definitely going to take notice. If you have a habit of being late, it’s not logical to expect your child to be punctual. So the first step to teaching punctuality to your children is becoming punctual yourself and set examples that your child will learn positive things from.
Fix their bedtime routine: Adherence to a specific bedtime routine is important to teach punctuality. Apparently ‘Early to bed and early to rise’ does not only make a man healthy but makes children punctual as well. When children go to bed on time and wake up early, they stay energetic all day long and don’t feel even a single string of tardiness. It helps them to stay focused and sharp in whatever they do. When children wake up early, they tend to follow the same routine throughout the day and their chances of being late are reduced heavily.- Explain its significance: Other than expecting your child to be punctual, another thing that’s very important to do is teaching her/him the significance of punctuality and the consequences of being late. Sit her/him down and have a one-to-one session. Explain a simple scenario of how waking up late can result in missing the school bus. And then reaching school late and missing a lesson. An explanation with practical implications will help her/him understand the concept of punctuality better. Also, teach how the most successful people are the ones who are never late and punctuality will only make her/him more productive at school and later in life.
Gift a watch: If you want your child to be punctual, don’t wait till her / his birthday to gift a watch. A watch will help her/him keeping a track of time and manage her / his activities better. With the help of the watch, she/he will be able to know how much time each of her / his daily activities takes – like taking a shower, eating breakfast, getting dressed, reaching the bus stop, etc. This will empower her/him to plan the activities better and be more efficient with time.- Reward their efforts: How do children know they are making good progress and need to continue with their efforts? When they get rewarded for the same! So every once in a while, when your child shows the signs of punctuality, like finishing homework on time, reward her/him properly. Depending upon your personal choice, the reward can be an evening trip to her / his favourite chocolate shop or additional playtime with friends. This will motivate her/him to keep up the good work. Soon her / his behaviour will turn into a permanent habit. Just make sure that you don’t go overboard with the reward or she/he will expect it all the time.
While you focus on your child being punctual, don’t forget she/he is still a child and needs some playtime to unwind. A little play is good to de-stress and revives the cognitive process. Once your child gets used to the new punctuality process, she/he will automatically prepare her / his day-to-day playtime chart to relax while still on the clock for other things. So go on and try these easy methods. In a short time, and with your dedicated efforts, your child will soon become habitual to punctuality and learn to do everything better with it.
Suggested Reading: 5 tips to teach time management to your little one
