Countdown Clock

Can you split some of those tasks so that some are done at night before she can read her book in bed? Cleaning her floor and putting away clothes isn't a morning task if she sets out the day's clothes the night before and puts away everything else. No morning changes of mind. Same with packing her backpack or whatever she's going to need for the day. When that's done, she can read in bed. If she dawdles, she loses reading time.

When she gets up in the morning, she just has to put on what's been set out and she puts her book by the door with her backpack and shoes. She can brush her hair, eat breakfast and clean up her dish. When that is done, she can sit somewhere near the door (anyplace comfortable but not up in her room where you have to chase her down) and read to her heart's content.

Since she becomes engrossed in the books, (if it's a good book, who doesn't?!) don't let her read in the morning before you leave. It's really that simple, seems to me. Nobody wants to close a book with the chapter unfinished. She may not have time to read an entire chapter though, and if she does, she might start another and not have time to finish THAT one.

Just wait. Make it the reward for being ready to go on time (or early). The VERY LAST THING before getting into the car is the book. She can go sit in the car with it, waiting on everyone else if necessary, unless it's so hot there that early in the morning already that it would be hazardous. It wouldn't here (and we're having 100 degree temps by afternoons, but 9:00 in the morning would be fine in the garage for 5 minutes or so).

If she is ready to go early, let her help someone else get ready. Save the reading for IN the car. Not before.

Wow, I'm a full time working adult and even I don't have so many responsibilities in the morning!
Camp/school things should be gathered and by the front door the night before. Bedroom clean up happens (when it happens) in the evenings during/after bath time.
I wake up slowly, have my coffee, newspaper/TV news and very little to eat (toast or trail mix) and my kids have always been the same, NEVER wanting to eat much in the morning, which is why I always packed them (and myself!) and hearty protein heavy "snack recess" snack...which happened at 10:15, a time when most of us are actually hungry.
Beyond brushing their teeth I didn't really care about hair, which is why my girls had short-ish hair until they actually started washing and brushing and taking care of it themselves.
I suggest you stop trying to be so structured with the morning routine. As an "unschooling" mom I'm really surprised you're not more flexible with how children (people) best start their day.
You can still get out the door on time. Prep the night before, ditch the hair/beauty ideals and throw a half a peanut butter sandwich in a baggie in lieu of a sit down breakfast.
Then call it a day!

Color me stupid, but when my kids were younger, *I* WAS the 'countdown clock'.

Silly me...I could have purchased one?

I somehow managed to have all kids up and out the door on time. Someone was not 'perfectly' ready/prepared? We went. Seems that by and large being 'UN prepared' happened about once for the older kids. The younger kids (being exceptionally bright of course) seemed to learn pretty quick that when *I* said 'time to go'...we went.

Fancy that!?!!

Being kind:
She needs less responsibilities in the morning. Streamline things for her. Pack the bag for the day the night before. Have her pack the book at night so she knows she can read it *after* she's in the car-- in fact, put the bag with the book in the car at night. Braid her hair at night to keep it tidy, or get her a haircut that works in the morning.

Have her wear the clothes for the next day to bed. Cross another task off the list.

My experience with Time Timers/countdown clocks is that they only work if A. the parent is very structured in how the child uses it and provides a lot of support during the transition initially. ("Initially" means however long it takes for the child to internalize the routine, maybe 100 times, who knows...)
B. There needs to be a reason for the child to want to strive for accomplishing their goal. I'd have some sort of small, spontaneous 'carrots' at the ready for great follow through in response to the timer. Kids who lose track of time need a lot of help in changing that tendency, so every time a child is responsive and transitions easily, that needs to be noticed. Figure out some small rewards in advance. Praise some days, small token reward (beautiful crystal, neat rock, set of buttons or trinkets she might like to do a craft with), a 'you've been doing so great in the mornings, let's go get ice cream for everyone'..... mix it up.

This is what I have seen work.

We bought the Time Timer at an ADHD conference. It's a good way to give visual cues to kids who otherwise lose track of time. Seems like something that would be a good resource in your situation. It also ends the argument of, "But you said I had 1/2 hour and it's only been 15 minutes."

Do everything she can the night before. Will make mornings easier.

Get her to bed earlier so she can wake up earlier and get everything done and not be rushed.
Then she'll have the time for some reading.

Additional:
You're having her do too much in the morning!
If they are having trouble getting to bed at night - have them prep for the morning the night before.

Pick out clothes to wear for next day, do clean/pick up, put clothes away (except what she needs for next day) at night, braid her hair at night and then un braiding and brushing (or leaving it braided) will be easier in the morning, and have her get her activity bag ready for the next day too and placed by the front door.
In the morning she should only have to eat, clear table, brush her teeth, get dressed, fuss with hair(if you're not leaving it braided from night before), and pick up her activity bag as you all head out the door.

Wait, what? You're upset she's reading too much? What exactly is "everything" she needs to have done? I don't know what a count down clock is but if she is old enough to read then you should be able to have a schedule she should be able to follow. I know this isn't very helpful but maybe you can list out all the things she needs to do before you leave so we have an idea of what you are dealing with. Unless it's getting dressed and eating, to me it seems anything else can wait until later in the day. JMO. Good luck.

Distracted by a book! Ah, it makes my heart sing.

I don't know anything about countdown clocks.

is the question actually about a clock, or about getting out the door in the morning?
i don't see any need to go by a 'countdown clock' (whatever that is) when the timer on my microwave works just great. if i bought anything it would be a sand timer because we all think they're fun and pretty.
but nothing will help a confirmed procrastinator other than organization. this is coming from a pathologically hopeless procrastinator.
the sheer quantity of things your daughter has to do in the morning, combined with being followed around and nagged by a stressmonster mom would tip me over the edge. my super-organized and punctual husband has learned, thankfully, that 'helping' me with 'reminders' just makes me nut up. he lets me flop around in my labyrinthine inefficient way and i make it work.
so if it's an unusually early/busy morning, surely you can set her up for success by having her get her things together the night before, firmly removing the book from her vicinity (replace it with the hairbrush) and letting some stuff go. will the world stop turning if her bedroom isn't cleaned or the crumbs go unbrushed for a morning?
i have to work backwards from the time i have to leave and build in procrastination (ie MP) time. i don't know that it's an effective strategy, but i've never been a get-up-and-go girl, not even when i was little.
i don't think a countdown clock would ever have helped me, really.
khairete
S.

I don't know what a countdown clock is either? is it just a timer?

Maybe get up earlier? My kids that like to dilly dally (as do I ... some days I need 2 full cups of coffee before I even feel like speaking to anyone) are early risers.

The people in the house who just go-go-go (shower, eat, make lunch, out door) get up later. They like to sleep in.

I leave it up to them to figure out which type they are. Us dilly dalliers just wake early, take our time, and if it means going to bed a bit earlier to accommodate the early morning, so be it.

My kids don't look at clocks. I'm not sure a timer would be any help.

If it's getting late and one of mine hasn't gotten into shower, I just yell "Shower, now". If you got up earlier also, would you be able to monitor her more? I walk around like a drill sergeant some mornings. I could not rely on a timer.

I love that she reads in the mornings. That's lovely (most kids would have noses in electronics). Just say you can read once you've eaten or whatever if needs be. Remove the book.

And I agree with the other moms - just get as much done night before.

Some mornings beds are roughly made around here - some days they are not. That's the last of my worries. So long as our milk is in fridge, I'm ok. Love that they help you out, and she has responsibilities - but around here, summertime ... we tend to just let some things slide.

Good luck :) (oh - do you have room darkening blinds? I had them when kids were little and they were well worth the cost. It is hard to send kids to bed when it's light out - I agree).

Can she read in the car on the way to wherever it is? I am a huge bookworm and that was always my mom's incentive to me...get in the car, you can read the whole way there. Worked on everything from trips to the dentist to 15 hour car rides! But the book was a hostage until I was on the car. I have to watch it even now. I have been late a couple of times because I was going to read a couple of pages while the water heats up in the shower...thirty minutes and a parched California crop's worth of water later...still unshowered.

Can't you just use the timer on the oven or microwave?

Ooo, I can relate to her and her love of a good book. I too can find them irresistable. Maybe she should hand her book to you the night before, and you will can give it to her when she's completed all her morning tasks. That way it's an incentive instead of a distraction.

Let me remind you that almost all children go through major growth spurts during the summer. The eat more, they sleep more and they need a lot of exercise. Make sure she understands this, because I am sure she will want to meet her potential height. How old is this distracted daughter?

I used to put up quilts over our daughters windows 2 weeks before school was going to start at the end of August. It did not get dark until 9:00 pm.

When does your daughter take her bath? If it is at night, then also have her wear her clothes for the next day to bed.. If she is taking her bath in the morning, move it to at night.

I would go into her room once she is asleep and take her book. That way you can use it as a carrot. Tell her she can have it once you are all in the car buckled in.

My husband has ADHD. Not sure if that is something you have looked into with this daughter . He also is easily distracted, He has learned to set his clock ahead of time, to allow himself time to get going. He also has all of his stuff, right next to the front door before he goes to bed, so he is not trying to find everything in the morning.

As they get older, they do to grow out of ADHD, It actually gets worse. So she needs to figure out a way to organize herself or figure out HER way to be ready on time, or you are going to just have to wake her up even earlier.

"...get dressed, eat, collect her things for the day-whatever book she is reading for the car- brush her hair-an impossible mission!- and then clean up her bedroom floor and put away clothes. They also help clean up from breakfast, I.e clear the table, put away cereal, pick up crumbs."

Geez. That's a lot for a kid first thing in the morning.
I have a busy morning routine (walk and feed three dogs, medicate one dog, feed seventeen cats and a rabbit, clean five cat litter boxes and one rabbit litter box, bag up the lunch that I packed the night before, brush my teeth and hair, and somewhere in there, find time to sit long enough to have a cup of coffee and a cigarette), that starts between 5:30 and 6, with me walking out the door at 7:30 to be at work for 8, and I find it difficult to get everything done, even with my husband helping me.

Why not make cleaning her room and putting away her laundry an afternoon/evening thing, instead of morning?

So it's summer and you're having to go to work earlier? Why can't she read whenever she wants? if she doesn't eat breakfast she's hungry later and learns that if she doesn't eat breakfast she is hungry before it's time to eat again. That's a natural consequence.

If you have an alarm clock that is a 10 minute warning maybe that will get her motivated. Get an old loud wind up clock and set it 10 minutes before you want to be in the vehicle. Start heading out so the kids get the idea. This gets you and the kids in the vehicle on time and if she hasn't eaten then she'll eat later. Don't let her bring anything with her either. Then she'll get the idea she can bypass the rules.

Kids aren't going to go to bed when the sun is up. Adjust your morning and give the kids as much time as you can.

What about an egg timer? You set it for how long before she has to be dressed, for how long before she has to leave the table, for how long before you get in the car. Cheaper than buying a separate clock...

And tell her that she can read in the car...

Each night before she goes to sleep, have her go down and lock her book in the car. If she wants to read, she has to be completely ready to go. Allow her book to be the incentive.

I'm not a fan of a countdown clock. Teach the kids to read the regular clock and ensure that they have a consistent morning routine. When my boys were younger, we made it a race...whomever was ready first got to choose the cartoon to watch while they all waited for me to finish getting ready. They were not allowed in the living room with the TV unless they had shoes on and coats/bags by the front door.

ETA: As for staying up late? Blackout curtains are the best thing ever. :-)