How does one get a dreamer to school on time?

Firstly, invest in a timer that can be set for five minutes up to an hour.

Then, draw up a schedule with your child of all tasks to be done in the morning before school. My daughter’s example:

(1) get dressed [5 min];

(2) eat her breakfast [10 min];

(3) brush her teeth [3 min]; and so on

(She is too young to read – I drew pictures).

Divide your time between getting up and leaving for school, but allow a few minutes for unplanned events.

After she wakes up, she should set the timer for 5 minutes so she can get dressed. The timer will bring her back to reality if she gets lost in her dream world. In this case, she’ll probably be a minute or two behind schedule – don’t fuss.

Once she’s dressed, she’ll set the timer for breakfast [10 minutes]. It will be necessary for her to carry the timer with her so that she can always hear when it rings.

The moment the timer rings, or as soon as she finishes, she must return to her room to see what’s next. The timer must also be set for how many minutes.

If she beats the timer and, for example, finishes 15 minutes early, she can be allowed 15 minutes of extra playtime (or an activity she enjoys) later that day.

In the event that she is late, the same rule applies. The time needs to be “gained” by waking her earlier the next morning! (After a week of late mornings you might want to re-evaluate how much time is allocated to any specific task.)

Two benefits here – you do not have to repeat yourself by asking your child to complete the same tasks every morning. And your child will learn to manage their own time – a valuable life skill.