I know how hard it can be managing your children’s schedules and ensuring they arrive at activities on time, which is why everyone is late for something every now and then.
However, being habitually late has significant detrimental effects on your children that you may have not thought about.
- It’s Disrespectful to the activity leader, the other children, and parents.
On the other hand, arriving on time shows that you value the activity, its leaders, and the other participants’ time.
- It’s Embarrassing for your child. If you’ve ever been late to a group meeting, you know how embarrassing it can be.You walk in, disrupting the person speaking… Everyone stops and looks at you… People moving their stuff or changing seats to make room for you. Now imagine how much worse it feels for a self-conscious child who has to interrupt their peers activity.
- It Increases your child’s anxiety, stress and inattention.
What happens before class sets the mood, mindset and focus your child will have in the class.
You know how stressful it is for you when you’re running late. Now imagine how stressful it is for your child to show up for class and realize it already began and everyone else is already engaged in the activity while your child doesn’t know where they’re supposed to go and what they’re suppose to do. - It Disrupts the class and wastes everyone’s time.
Like many activities, our classes often work in pairs or in teams. We line up our students by size to enable a quick transition to pairing up. When a child walks in 2 minutes late we have to rearrange everyone. Then another child walks in 2 minutes later, and we have to rearrange again… Then again… Oh, and we have to do this with a class full of excited little kids who sometimes struggle to listen or understand the instructions. - It causes your child to miss important lessons.
When children arrive late, they miss out on essential instructions, warm-up exercises, and socializing
opportunities.
This can affect their focus, engagement, and ability to perform well in the activity. Arriving on time
ensures that your
child has ample time to prepare, mentally and physically, for the activity, allowing them to engage fully
and achieve the best results possible.
6. It promotes the bad habit of being late
Being on time is a critical life skill that teaches responsibility and accountability. When children know they have a set time to arrive, they learn to plan ahead, manage their time effectively, and take responsibility for their actions.
These skills are vital to success in school, work, and life.
I always say that, when it comes for kids, it’s all about instilling the RIGHT HABITS. So look at being on time as a new habit for yourself and your kids. You’ll see your children build responsibility and accountability, develop time management skills, demonstrate professionalism, encourage focus and engagement, and show respect for others.
It’s not easy, but making this commitment for your children is more than worth it. The benefits they’ll gain extend beyond the activity and will impact your child’s life positively as they grow into the adult you want them to become.