Please can someone help me deal with my DD's lack of awareness of time.

[mumat39]

My 4 year old DD is SO slow at doing things and I'm getting so stressed by it.

She started reception yesterday but getting her breakfasted and ready is just taking too long. She is a bright little girl but just doesn't get the concept of time.

She's always been like this so much so that I got to the stage of not bothering to try and get my dc out as the stress was just getting me.

I find myself shouting at her to hurry her along. I hate being late but we always are.

This morning We woke her up at 730. She had breakfast but this took ages. Then she took an age again brushing her teeth. If I try and help she just grunts at me. My habit that she has adopted.

Then I got ds in the car while sh was getting dressed and she just kept shouting WAAAAAAAAIT!!!!! After 5 minutes I went up and she still hadn't put her school dress on. Then 10 minutes later she still didn't have her socks on. Instead she was trying to fold the bottom of her dress up saying it was too long.

In the end we made it to school with a minute to spare.

She was the same at nursery. She went in the afternoon and trying to get her to eat lunch beforehand was a nightmare.

She will do things but only eventually and after I've shouted loads. Sometimes I think she's so engrossed in hat she's doing she just doesn't hear me. I was the same when I was younger.

I hate shouting and being so negative but I find myself saying things and thn hating myself for it.

I worry I'm making things worse but don't know how to deal with this. I feel like a terrible mother and it's actually making me feel ill.

Can someone help me deal with this please. At the moment I'm struggling to know what to do. Many thanks in advance.

We start bedtime at 6:30, bath, milk and story then bed. Usually in bed by 7ish, asleep by 7:30 (although tonight I found an encyclopedia and torch under his pillow, arf). Been like that since he was à year old. It's the only this we've always been extra strict on. Had to be...

Bed. DS1 is 3, DS2 is 1.

Watch one episode of Octonaughts (or whatever is requested that we have on the recorder!) starting about 6.30, while DS2 has a cup of milk. Upstairs about 6.45, bath. Story about 7-7.15, in bed by about 7.30 for DS1. DS2 usually asks to come downstairs for a bit, and usually takes himself off to bed about 8.

We've tried making bedtime later to push back the early mornings, but bizarrely it results in even earlier waking, and tired, grumpy children.

Thank you both.

Cumber, dc in bed by 7 sounds lovely. I can never get them to bed that early. . I love the torch and encyclopedia under the pillow. Your DS must be a mine of information. He sounds brilliant!

Next phase, I think your times are closer to ours, but DD who is 5 just does anything she can to not get into bed on time. This is when she is at her slowest.

Thank you both for sharing your routines with me, it's good to know that kids will go to bed earlier.

Xxx