to ask you about our 6 year olds?

[LittleTilly]

Out of curiosity, what are/were your 6/7 year olds like in regards to:

• manners (do they say please and thank you naturally?)
• morning routine (do they typically know to get dressed/brush teeth etc or do they still need to be told every day?)
• following instructions (when you tell or ask them to do something, are they super distracted or are they normally quite good?)
• In general, how much do they do on their own and what do they typically need lots of guidance with?

No idea what I'm doing and what is normal to expect from a 6/7 year old and could use a little advice and guidance to ensure I'm not being too harsh/lax!

FYI I am soon to be looking regularly after a 6 year old (7 soon) overnight and as much as I am responsible and great with kids, I've never had this amount of responsibility before. I will of course talk to his parents about this but could use some general ideas about what to expect from a 6 year old from those who have been there and done that!

*your

1. Excellent manners.

1. Completely independent in the morning. School bags are packed with minimal help from our nanny the afternoon before. Help themselves to cereal or toast. Get dressed and brush teeth.

1. Quite good. It depends what they're doing.

1. They love playing with their brother or friends. No screen time during the week. Can crack on by themselves but of course love playing with their parents.

Ask the parents of the individual child.

My little boy is 6 in a week but even as a 5 year old he is extremely independent. He does need a bit of prompting some mornings that he has to wash his face and brush his teeth but generally he does it without having to be asked.
Although they get used to a routine they are still very young and can easily forget to do day to day things if allowed.
My boy puts himself on the bath, makes his own breakfast, takes himself off to bed etc (all with me closely by of course) but I have been very lucky with him. 6/7 year olds are easier because they can entertain themselves and follow instruction.

Oh the manners thing. My little boy and the kids in the family both sides have good manners and say their pleases and thank you’s if at that age they don’t then that’s the parenting.

Good luck!

Manners - it's not the parenting . We remind our 6 year old constantly and they still don't do it every time.
Morning routine - knows what to do but needs supervision. They're happy to get dressed, brush teeth etc and understands it's a busy time of day so no messing around.
Following instructions - depends. Much easier in the morning when not tired!

My just turned 6 year old seems to be shocked and amazed she needs to put socks and shoes on to leave the house. On a typical school day I have to be shouting before they are attached to her feet. She's not good at following instructions but she has a very short attention span.

She has good manners, does say please/thank you and is well behaved around other adults/people's houses.

I have a (just) 7yo ds...
Manners are excellent, requires no prompting, very polite.

Morning routine - always a struggle, he knows what needs doing but is incredibly easily distracted.

6 year old ds.

Very polite with please and thank you.

Needs supervision or won't do morning routine. Ends up late if not prompted/led to the bathroom.

Can't remember your other things you mentioned.

Manners: he is polite but shy. Struggles to talk to strangers including please and thank you but is working hard at it.
Morning: Not too bad. Brushes own teeth, gets dressed if we are leaving the house etc. Prone to dilly daddling and daydreaming.
Instructions: Not too bad. Gets distracted and daydreams
Needs a fair bit of prompting. But he's loving and kind and does his best.

They are honestly all different so you can’t possibly know what to expect after hearing tales of other children the same age.

My six year old has good manners. She does have to be prompted to do pretty much everything every day which drives me nuts. I have to remind her to brush teeth and change her underwear in the morning for example. She does generally do what she is asked with little resistance though.