Dealing with procrastination early

The next few months are a really busy time for my son - he has several projects he is working on for school. While he will get some class time to work on them, there is going to be a significant portion of the work done at home.

So, this will be when my son learns how to devote a little bit of time each week to getting all his stuff done, and I'll watch to see if he has procrastinator tendencies.

We've had weekend work in the past, and I've given him the choice: Do you want to get this done now or after lunch? and he's chosen based on his mood. Sometimes he wants to get his work done right away, sometimes he has other plans in mind. And that has worked out well. This type of multiple-step project work, however, could potentially get away from him if we don't help him understand how to budget his time.

The teacher who assigned this project actually had a meeting with all the parents to outline how we are supposed to help our child through this the first time and the places where we should back off. That was good to hear since I am usually getting the opposite message of "hands off, parents."

If I do see signs of procrastination, it isn't necessarily a bad thing. There are lots of procrastinators in the world and lots of types as well. It is important to recognize that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution for kids who do procrastinate.

So I sat my son down and told him I would be giving him guidance in his work. It is not about letting him set the schedule, but more about him understanding that a schedule needs to be set, and helping him know the next steps. Hopefully we are successful so we can use this as a reference point going forward.

Do you think your child is a procrastinator? Share what type in the comments.