Morning Routine

Mornings can be hectic, especially when you have school-age kids. A morning routine can help. I am not going to pretend that my family is in a constant state of morning bliss now that we have a morning routine – far from it! BUT the crazy, desperate mornings of frantically dressing, brushing teeth, packing lunches and sending the kids out the door – always a few minutes too late and practically kicking them out – are over. I now get to send my kids off to school properly - with a smile, a hug and a kiss.

Morning routine actually starts the night before. Lay out the kids’ clothes for the next day, pack their lunchboxes and fill out permission slips. This will shave at least fifteen minutes off your morning routine.

A successful morning routine starts with the kids waking up on time. When I say “on time,” I mean they need to have enough time to get dressed, eat breakfast and brush their teeth before heading out the door. Ideally, you should get your children an alarm clock – you do NOT want to be the nagging mom who keeps nagging and begging until they finally get out of bed.

Another important part of a successful morning routine is letting go of perfectionism. Of course, this is true for every aspect of parenting. Forget the “perfect” hot breakfast. There’s nothing wrong with yogurt and a piece of fruit, or with cold cereal, for breakfast. Save those delicious homemade pancakes for the weekend!

Some parents swear by bribing their kids – and I mean “bribing” in a good way. You can tell the kids that if they leave on time, they get to watch an extra half-hour of television that night. Or, create a chart and post it by the door. Each time the kids leave the house on time, they get a point. When they have accumulated, say, ten points, they receive a small gift.

Mornings with school age children will never be perfectly calm (heck, life with children is not perfectly calm) but with a morning routine, you can make mornings much more pleasant for everyone.

Image by:  Jelle Dryuts

About the Author Posted by Vered in dynamics on October 08, 2009 More from this author  |