My Child is Always Late

As children get older and are away from home more often, parents often worry about their safety when they don’t return home on time.

1. Ask your child to come up with some ways to tackle the lateness problem. Have her choose the ones to put into practice.
2. Children should always know their home phone number and who they should call if their parents are not home.
3. You must be clear and consistent with children about where they may go, and what time they must be home.
4. Teach your child to call you when they will be late from a friend’s house, and make sure they have “emergency phone change” if they need it. Reassure that you are not asking them to call because you don’t trust them, but because you care about them.
5. Set a good example by calling if you are going to be late. Praise the child when he comes home on time.
6. Decide together on the time to be home and the consequences for being late – loss of phone, bike or other privileges can be logical things to do, missing a desired activity makes sense – “if you are home by 5:00, we can go to the mall.”