give me your tips for dealing with a distractible 9 yr old

[kathymuggle]

The title says it all.

 

My 9 yr old is distractible when doing any school type or house work. She is not asked to do too much. She stalls, acts silly, whines, wanders off if left to her own to do things....you get the picture.

 

I would prefer not to punish her into doing what I would like her to - just tips you have and what worked for you with distractible children!

 

She is not always distractible - with her own chosen activities (example: drawing) she can focus just fine.

[MathGirl]

My 8 year old is the same way. I find that the only thing that seems to help is when she is left alone to do the task and has some sort of incentive for finishing (If she finishes her chores early, she can use the extra time to play, etc.) If I or her siblings are in the room when she's supposed to be working, she will talk, dance, make noises-anything to be social. But she does not like being alone, so she tries to finish her tasks asap.

[Ellie]

My 9 yr old is distractible when doing any school type or house work. She is not asked to do too much. She stalls, acts silly, whines, wanders off if left to her own to do things....you get the picture.

That doesn't sound "distractable" to me. That sounds like a child who has figured out that she can stall, act silly, whine, and wander off and get away with it.

 

When you tell her to do something, such as, I dunno, take the clothes out of the washer and put them in the dryer, do you leave her alone, or do you follow-up in a few minutes to see that she has done it? Because that's what it sounds like to me: no follow-up.

[kathymuggle]

 

When you tell her to do something, such as, I dunno, take the clothes out of the washer and put them in the dryer, do you leave her alone, or do you follow-up in a few minutes to see that she has done it? Because that's what it sounds like to me: no follow-up.

 

I could probably do more follow-up. Maybe I am slacking and need to mom-up (my own whine is coming up) but I find constantly being on top of her to get even the smallest things done draining. Maybe she is just outlasting me, lol. I do need I need to mom-up though.