The Importance of Deadline

Setting a deadline or a goal to accomplish is a crucial part of home schooling for any type of learning. Children often wonder what would happen if they did not finish the tasks given to them on time. It is important that you give them the right message about the importance of deadline. This will teach them to be responsible and reliable.

You can start by explaining to your child that if he or she did not finish his or her tasks by a certain date, there will be consequences. The consequences you tell your child are a bigger question. If you tell your child that one consequence is that he or she would not get his or her allowance this week, then the child might think that you are unnecessarily being mean to him or her on purpose. This will only make the child resent you and your teaching methods. If this happens, the child may retaliate and pretend to learn just to get his or her allowance but would never have any real interest in the subject at hand.

However, if you teach the child that if he or she fails to complete his or her tasks on time, then something has to happen where other people suffer, and eventually he or she will also suffer, then the child will learn to be responsible. For example, you assign for your child to finish a math calculation of the number of gardening plants needed for the yard by Friday. You explain that until your child understands that if he or she does not finish his or her task by Friday, then Dad cannot plant the garden on Saturday morning, his only time off work. That means, no nice garden for BBQ for the family on Saturday afternoon. And, without the family coming on Saturday, the child will not get all those toys the family usually brings. Most children will understand the implication of not getting toys or something he or she really looks forward to receiving. He or she will also understand that it would not be his or her parents' fault that he or she did not get the toys - it would be his or her own fault. The child will work harder to make the deadline, and there could be no way he or she would resent you for the consequenses.

Knowing the importance of deadline is an advantage a homeschooling child has over a child who attends a regular school. Parents can really drill into the child the importance of being responsible. This has to be started at an early age. Once the child has learned that it is ok to not be responsible and to miss deadlines, it is very  difficult to re-teach him or her. With the way outlined above, the child is taught to think for himself or herself. He or she will learn the ability to figure out the consequences himself or herself and decide what he or she needs to be responsible for. Your child will not be complying to your instructions in fear of you taking something he or she likes away but will be complying to help you and in turn help himself or herself. It is amazing what children can learn and figure out for themselves.