Practical Tips To Handle Lazy Kids

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If your kids are lazy, there are some things you can do today to reverse this behavior! Just a few simple things to keep in mind when trying to handle lazy kids and you can get your kids off the couch in no time at all.

Why Are Kids Lazy

There are a few reasons why your child may be acting lazy. Let’s face it, everyone struggles with getting motivated at one point or another and kids are no different.

You may think your child is just being lazy, but there are underlying issues that could be causing this, and you can nip those issues in the bud if you pay close attention and try to figure out the problem.

If your child is feeling discouraged, they may be feeling overwhelmed. If they don’t know where to start with something, as an adult you will look at the big picture and solve the problem by focusing on smaller portions of the issue at a time or trying to find a new way of looking at things.

Children do not have this ability, once they are overwhelmed, that is it, the task is now “impossible” and will never get finished.

Help your child work through overwhelm by asking your child if they know where to start (on a homework assignment or a chore) and if they don’t know where to start, you can help guide them in the right direction.

Try to think together of some possible solutions to the immediate issue. If you can melt away the overwhelm through support and encouragement they will not feel so alone in their task and will be much happier to tackle it.

The takeaway? Overwhelm leading to discouragement can make your child appear to be lazy.

How You Can Help Your Child Not Be So Lazy

When you encounter your child acting lazy, you can handle the situation with encouragement positive words to get out of the funk. Encouragement should be all you need to tackle the lazy behavior on the spot but here are some extra tips for you as a parent to consider when learning how to handle a lazy kid.

Provide Challenge

When you are encouraging your child to get up and complete some tasks, it is important that you don’t make the job too easy, or do it for them.

Let your child understand the value of hard work, and eliminate the overwhelm of the task by encouraging them to look at the situation in a new light, or talk about how the task can be completed in bite size pieces.

You Are An Example

Your child watches you and learns how to act and behave based on how you act and behave. If you want to have kids who are not so lazy, then you must show them how to not be lazy by not being lazy yourself.

Give yourself some grace though, because parenting is difficult and there are times to be lazy and times to work hard. Balance those out and there should be no issue.

Set expectations

Let your child know what you expect from them during the task and after the task is completed. If you are asking your little one to take the garbage to the curb, explain to them that you expect the garbage to be out by 9pm and the gate to the yard to be closed with the latch before coming back into the house.

This way your child is aware that they don’t just need to take the bin to the curb, but to also close the gate properly.

I know it seems like unnecessary reminding, but children don’t remember things like adults do, and they do need that extra information given to them.

Get kids involved with daily activities around the house

I’m sure as a parent you’re pretty busy during the day looking after the house, making the meals and planning activities. Get your kids involved in all the things you do.

Breakfast time? No problem, get your kids to make their own breakfast if they are old enough, or get them to be directly involved in helping you set their breakfast out for them. There is no reason your two year old cannot grab a bowl and a spoon for you while you reach for the cereal and milk. Same goes for scrambled eggs and your tween, you can encourage them to cook, or simply get them to beat the eggs in a bowl while you heat up the pan.

There are so many ways you can involve your kids in the daily tasks that you do around the home, and while it may be easier for you to do it yourself while the kids watch tv, it is not effective when trying to raise kids who are motivated and not lazy.

Tips To Motivate Your Lazy Kid

Establish clear expectations and consequences

You can’t motivate lazy kids if you don’t know what’s expected of them. If you’re trying to motivate your kid to clean their room and they don’t even know it’s supposed to be clean in the first place, you’re not going to get very far.

The first step is to identify the problem areas and create a plan of attack. Examine the areas of your child’s life where they are struggling. Is it their schoolwork? Their physical health? Their social life?

Take some time to find the root causes of their struggles and create a plan that directly addresses these issues. This might include setting up a more appropriate schedule, finding a tutor, limiting screen time, and so on.

Make physical activity part of your child’s routine

If your kids are lazy and lethargic, they’re probably lacking in the physical activity department. If this is the case, then you’re going to want to get them moving—and you’ll also want to make sure they stay moving.

Kids who are used to lounging around all day often have trouble transitioning to a more active lifestyle. Kids with ADHD are often hyperactive, so finding a way to help them channel this energy productively can be difficult. If you have a lazy kid with ADHD, try to channel their hyperactivity into more physical activities.

When they have a chance to let off some steam, they’ll be able to focus more effectively in other areas of their life.

Set up a reward system for healthy behavior

Some parents try to motivate their kids by threatening them with negative consequences if they don’t do what they’re told. While this may work in some cases, it’s not going to be effective in all situations.

If you have a lazy child, you don’t want to push them away even more by constantly nagging them. You can motivate your child to be more responsible by setting up a reward system that’s designed to motivate them.

For example, if you want your child to do their chores more often, give them a certain amount of money for each chore they complete. This money can then be spent on something fun for them at the end of the week.

Create small wins to build momentum

When you’re trying to motivate a lazy kid, it can be helpful to focus on progress instead of perfection. As the parent, you want to look for small wins that you can celebrate as you work towards the larger goal.

When you’re trying to motivate a child who’s not academically inclined, don’t celebrate getting a 100% on their math test. Instead, celebrate the fact that they sat down to do their math homework for the first time ever.

When you’re trying to motivate a child who’s not physically active, don’t celebrate their winning the state championship. Instead, celebrate the fact that they made it to the end of the basketball court without wanting to quit.

Help your child find their passion

Sometimes, kids who are naturally lazy have that tendency because they’re not passionate about anything in particular.

Diversifying their interests and helping them to find their passion can be a great way to help them find motivation and purpose in their day-to-day lives. If you have a lazy kid who spends all day watching TV, playing video games, and eating junk food, you can help them to diversify their interests by participating in some recreational activities together.

This can also help you two to form a stronger bond.

Lazy Parenting And Lazy Kids

A lazy parenting lifestyle is a parenting style that encourages kids to be bored and come up with their own ways of keeping themselves entertained.

Lazy parenting is not uninvolved parenting, but rather about allowing your child to develop independence by mindfully stepping back and allowing your child to struggle for a moment before rescuing them. It’s all about letting your kiddo discover just how much they are capable of all on their own.

Lazy parenting does not help you raise lazy kids, in fact, it helps you raise confident and independent kids!