Kids love making timetables but struggle to follow them: Here's why
This article explores the psychological reasons why children struggle to follow self-created timetables despite their initial enthusiasm. It highlights that planning and execution require different executive functions, such as attention shifting and inhibition, which are still developing in children.
Why it matters
Understanding the gap between planning and execution helps parents and educators set realistic expectations for children's time management skills.
A child sits down on Sunday evening with a fresh notebook, a ruler and a set of coloured pens. Maths from 5 to 5.45 pm. English after that. Twenty minutes for revision. Thirty minutes of play. Dinner at 8. By the time the timetable is finished, it looks almost too good to disturb.Then Monday arrives.The maths session starts late. English gets pushed back. The child spends 20 minutes looking for a notebook, gets distracted by something on the table and eventually decides to “start properly tomorrow”.For parents, this can be baffling. If a child knows what needs to be done and has even planned it down to the minute, why is following the plan so difficult?Psychology suggests the answer may not simply be poor time management. Making a timetable and using one in real time require different mental skills.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in