5 Tips to Help Your Child Stop Procrastinating Before Any Task

posted on Jul 06, 2021

“I will do it later” or “I have plenty of time” – if you hear these statements frequently as parents, know that you are not alone. Procrastination is common among children, especially among older students who have more freedom of deciding when to do what. From your side, procrastination may seem like a bad habit but your child might be doing it for a reason.

“I will do it later” or “I have plenty of time” – if you hear these statements frequently as parents, know that you are not alone. Procrastination is common among children, especially among older students who have more freedom of deciding when to do what. From your side, procrastination may seem like a bad habit but your child might be doing it for a reason. Researchers around the world have connected procrastination with children who:

1. Are bored
2. Lack time management skills
3. Does not find relevance in the task
4. Is anxious about failure
5. Has poor self-discipline

To phase out the habit of procrastination, you naturally need to tackle the above underlying traits/emotions. And the strategies you follow can be in line with what the best CBSE schools in Greater Noida employ. So, here are 5 ways to help your child stop procrastinating.

1. Shuffle your child’s schedule

School in the morning followed by homework in the evening can become monotonous. If your child is indeed bored with his/her routine, try to mix things up a bit. Maybe plan some fun and different activity for the weekend. Or, try cooking dinner as a family or playing video games right after homework is done. This is not changing the uncompromisable tasks like school and homework but the things around them receive some fun element. Take any top convent school in Greater Noida West and you will see that the afterschool activities rarely remain the same every day.

2. Help your child with the to-do list

Older students will know what all they have to do throughout the day but that does not necessarily mean that they know when to do what. Poor time management results in procrastination and it is often unintentional. Sit down with your child and question him/her about how much time has he/she set for a specific task and why. When you notice that your child has overestimated playing soccer and underestimated the time required to finish homework, help him/her to rearrange the to-do list.

3. Show the end purpose of the task at hand

Because you have to get good grades to become successful in life is often a flimsy way to build relevance. Something that will happen way into the future is just not motivating enough. To bring back relevance and thus phase out procrastination, you might have to connect the task with something that really matters to your child. For instance, if your child is interested in music or sports, tell him/her that completing the assignment is important to continue pursuing the skill in school as per norms. Even narratives like most great musicians and sports icons are highly educated may also help.

4. Let your child know that perfection is not expected

When a student is anxious about a given task and is afraid to fail, he/she will postpone the assignment indefinitely as avoiding the entire scenario is way better than facing the embarrassment of making a mistake. Perfectionism is a habit that can be talked out of a child. You need to let him/her know that no one ever achieved excellence without making mistakes first. Take real-life examples. Normalise making mistakes at home. And teach him/her that learning something is a journey and results hold a lesser priority than the process. Once your child makes a mistake, tell him/her to take the learning from it and move forward.

5. Have a few strict rules at home

Along with academic freedom, the top schools in Greater Noida West still have a few rules. These enforce discipline and help students to stay on course. You can take a page out of their book to help your child fight procrastination. Set a few ground rules like no TV before homework, video games only on the weekends or bedtime at a certain hour. Children who are yet to form their own discipline regime will form the required habits from these external regulations. When he/she knows that TV is out of bounds until homework is done, the pressing task will stay on priority.

Again, procrastination is natural among students, given the current world of distractions, but it is manageable and students can learn not to give in to the habit. BGS Vijnatham School is always open to working with the parents. In the end, both the school and the parents share a common goal – education and development of the student. Discuss with the BGSVS faculty to find out personalised ways to help your child eliminate procrastination. Set up an academic home ambiance for your child that is both exciting and disciplined. BGSVS students carry the means of staying focused from the school only and with a little help at home, they are sure to succeed.