9 year old with her head in the clouds

[SchrodingersFerret]

I love my 9 year old Dd. She's a little dot, having overcome growth issues when she was little, and is very blunt and honest. But she's as daft as a brush and completely lacks common sense.

She's just gone to middle school and appears to be completely lost, always mislaying her bus tickets and letters and homework and lunchbox, the list is endless. I'm a painfully patient person, but even I am getting exasperated with her.

I want to help, and find a way to increase her confidence, but I've not faced this kind of dippiness before and I find myself a bit lost. Any advice?

Bumping for the afternoon ladies. And because I'm ever so slightly needy.

Sounds like my DS who is 9 this school year, however there is no way in this world I could trust him with bus tickets. Very often I think it's because I don't give him enough responsibility and practice as I still do everything for him. But confidence wise, he has come on leaps and bounds with scouts, first beavers and now cubs. The camping, the badges and being given a chance to do things that I never in a million years have given him responsibility to do,have given him such confidence in his own abilities both physical and mental. I'm rambling now but what I guess I'm trying to say (as much to myself, as to you) is perhaps increase little responsibilities to build confidence, such as chores, making school bags up. Good luck!

Thank you :) TBH, it's just nice to hear from someone else who hasn't got a super confident, common sense child like all my friends, and indeed, all my other children.

I am super dippy, always have been. It's well known at work. But I'm a manager, went to a great uni etc. Maybe she is like me and she is too busy with creative stuff to have any common sense?! That has always been my excuse! My mother (and everyone else I know) always say I am intelligent but lack common sense. Don't worry, most people have common sense. Someone else can always cover her for that, because it's common. :-) Let her live with her head in the clouds and she can surround herself with practical people like I do. By the way, I do now function, i.e. Change light bulbs, etc. I do always get my husband to set my alarm for business flights though and he organises holiday tickets etc! It's just about knowing and recognising your weaknesses so you can work around them. Nobody's perfect.

Does she have a school diary? Encourage her to write everything down in the day, even letters she has received etc and maybe a slot for them to go into. This saved me at school. I still do this now as I know I remember nothing.

Yes he's a lovely, chatterbox who is kind, yet he has no memory or common sense. I have to remind him every time to flush the toilet, cause he just forgets. His mind is already on the next Minecraft thingy that he wants to build. Dare I ask him to do two things, like go and put his shoes and coat on... Funny he'll always remember to take his Lego with him for show and tell.