So have I heard of that? Uh, there are a couple of things that I would be interested in here. Does this child typically start something and struggle to finish it? Because what we’re looking at here is very common — people start tasks and don’t finish them.
If you tell them to do something, they might forget. They’ll say, “Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot to do that.” Those are typically signs of ADHD — where inattentiveness makes it hard to stay focused and complete tasks.
So I would observe that and learn more about ADHD as a possibility in a situation like this. I can’t diagnose that, but I would at least be curious to see if it could be a factor.
If not, then I would probably walk my child through something and see what happens. They’re probably going to say, “I forgot,” or “It slipped my mind,” or something similar. I’d want to talk with them openly and see what they say about getting a task done.
I might actually do it with them so they can see it modeled. I want to model how to start and finish a task. Because sometimes people don’t finish things simply because of how their mind works — they get started and don’t finish, get started and don’t finish.
In a situation like this — whether it’s chores around the house or cleaning but not finishing — I might step in and finish with them so they can see what completion looks like. I would talk openly about my concerns: “Look, I’m here to help. Let’s finish this.”
The first few times, I would finish with them. Then, I would introduce a positive reinforcement — for example, “I want you to complete this task, and when you’re done, we’ll go get an ice cream cone.” Now you’re rewarding them with appreciation and positive time together.
That’s a healthy way to encourage task completion — using positive reinforcement and modeling instead of frustration.
