This is my third week dealing with this. My boys (9 and 11) are dragging their feet, being super slow, suddenly needing to find stuff in their rooms right when I show up. Today I waited 20 minutes while my 9yo "looked for his iPad." Ex says she's not making them do this. Idk if it's normal adjustment stuff or what. Am I handling this wrong by just... waiting?
Could be they want more notice or a ritual before they leave? I started giving my 9yo a 10 minute warning and he's way better about transition. Sometimes the slowness is them trying to communicate they need help shifting gears.
For real though, dragging their feet at pickup might also just be normal kid stuff. They're comfortable where they are and don't want to leave. That doesn't mean something's wrong, just means transitions are hard at that age. Stay patient with it.
This is frustrating. Are they doing it at school too or just at your pickup? If it's only at your place, could be they're testing boundaries or want to stay longer with the other parent. Have you talked to their mom about what's going on during the week?
My boys did this exact thing and it turned out they were nervous about something happening at my place. I wasn't picking up on any actual problem, but once I asked more directly, they admitted they were worried about a movie I had on that scared them. Talk to them individually if you can.
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Three weeks is a pattern. Try having a calm conversation with them outside of pickup time about what's up. Maybe something changed in their schedule or they're anxious about something. You gotta figure out the why before you can fix the slow walking.