If you’re feeling stressed about your family’s morning routine, you aren’t alone. Daily, countless parents struggle to get their kids up and ready for school before the tardy bell rings.
If you’re one of those parents, you may feel like you’ll be stuck in this unpleasant rut until your youngest child graduates from high school. However, that doesn’t have to be the case.
No matter how chaotic your mornings are, you can take steps to create a more effective and relaxed routine. Here are just a few ways to improve your before-school morning routine.
Start with the Right Bedtime Routine
A good bedtime routine makes mornings much easier in most households. Kids need their sleep (even on the weekends), and establishing a good sleep schedule helps make those groggy, grumpy mornings a thing of the past.
Most kids need a solid eight hours of sleep, to establish a bedtime and a wake-up time. Ultimately, sleep should be a consistent process.
When the body is used to falling asleep and waking up at a certain time, it’s much faster to get up and get moving.
Prep the Night Before
The more you take care of the night before, the less you’ll have to do in the morning. Pack your children’s lunch and make sure their books, binders and other supplies are in their backpacks the night before.
Lay your younger kids’ outfits (including shoes!) out the night before, and encourage your teens to do the same for themselves. This will help you avoid the frustration of not being able to find your child’s favorite shirt five minutes before the bus is due to arrive.
You could take it one step further and purchase bulk t-shirts for your child. So, when the time comes to get your little one dressed, you won’t have to fuss with finding or matching an outfit for them.
Organize your Home
Poor organization can make even the simplest tasks take way longer than necessary. Invest in some good organizational materials, and use them to simplify the process of getting everyone ready each morning.
Pick up some bins and hooks for storing backpacks, books, jackets and shoes close to the door. Also, make sure everyone has their own spot for the things they need.
Another good idea is to put a dry erase calendar in a central location in your home. This helps everyone stay on the same page about who needs to be where and when.
It will allow you to prevent early morning mix-ups.
Limit Lunch Options
If you pack your kids’ lunch and allow them to choose from everything in your kitchen each day, you could be wasting a ton of time. Even if you prep and pack lunches the night before, limiting your child’s choices speeds up the process.
Allowing your child to choose their own lunch makes them feel important and like they are a part of the decision-making process. But providing just a few options rather than offering up an entire menu can make your morning routine go a lot smoother.
Get Yourself Ready First
It may seem logical to get yourself ready for the day while your kids are getting ready, but it can actually make your morning routine a whole lot more chaotic and frustrating. Wake up a bit earlier than the rest of the family.
Enjoy a cup of your favorite coffee or tea by yourself, shower and get dressed before you even wake the kids. In addition to ensuring no one else runs in the bathroom right when you’re about to go do your hair, getting ready first gives you time to wake up a bit and get yourself in a positive state of mind before the chaos of the day begins.
If you are already awake and happy before the kids get up, the morning will probably involve a lot less yelling and frustration.
Make Time for a Balanced Breakfast
We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Unfortunately, many of us don’t make it a part of our morning routines. Rather than sitting down and having a meal as a family, we are rushing out the door holding our coffee in one hand and handing our child a Pop-Tart with the other.
Taking the time to have a balanced breakfast together as a family provides the nourishment your kids need to make it to lunchtime. It also helps lift spirits and bring families closer together.
It provides a time to talk about your child’s concerns for the day and gives you an opportunity to soothe them. Even if it requires waking everyone up a bit earlier, a good breakfast should be a part of every family’s morning routine.
Do Your Best to Be Patient and Calm
When you’re running late and your daughter can only find one of her shoes or your son mentions homework that should have been completed last night, it’s hard to stay calm. Getting everyone up and ready for the day is challenging, and some mornings are nothing but pure chaos.
Just about every parent loses their cool every once in a while. Doing your best to be patient and calm could keep the situation from escalating.
Take a deep breath and relax. Remind yourself that before long, you’ll be wishing for these hectic mornings again.
Conclusion
Each family is different, and what works for one might not for another. When it comes to improving your before-school morning routine, trying some of the tips listed above could help you start your day on a much more positive note.
Whether you have small children who are sluggish in the mornings or grumpy teens who don’t feel that they should be required to be up and moving until noon, creating a strong routine will help make mornings run a bit more smoothly.
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