Adults can be said to procrastinate when they meet one of five criteria for defining procrastination: there is an intention to perform the task; the task is delayed; the delay is voluntary; the delay is unnecessary; and they are aware that this may lead to future negative outcomes.

These can’t be applied to children in different stages of development.  It’s not uncommon to catch preschoolers dilly-dallying when they’re supposed to be tidying or school-aged children putting off homework for more desirable tasks.

Brock Professor of Psychology Caitlin Mahy is studying procrastination in childhood and has described children’s typical procrastination-type behaviours in various stages, beginning with preschoolers (ages two to four), who put off tasks and household routines; older preschoolers (ages five and six), who delay doing homework and household chores; primary school children (ages seven to 13), who experience an increase in academic procrastination; and high school teens (ages 14 to 18), for whom procrastination is prominent at school as competing demands on time increase.

These may be early indications of a tendency to procrastinate as adults, so it is understandable that parents may want to help children prevent forming a habit of postponing challenging tasks. 

For those parents, Mahy offers these tips:

• Use a “starting ritual” such as a countdown or the “Pomodoro technique,” which involves five-minute breaks after 25 minutes of doing the task.
• Clear distractions, such as toys or screens, in the immediate environment.
• Break down longer-term deadlines into shorter tasks and chunks of time.
• Make tasks more fun to do and accomplish.

More information: Caitlin E. V. Mahy et al, Mutual implications of procrastination research in adults and children for theory and intervention, Nature Reviews Psychology (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s44159-024-00341-w

Image supplied by Freepik