The hectic morning routine most parents are faced with is nothing, if not chaotic and stressful. I have read touching, beautiful articles about letting your child take their time and explore their world even if that means stopping on their way to the car to inspect an ant hill. How not to rush them and create stress in their lives when it’s not necessary, how we should all stop and smell the roses more. How allowing them . . .
to work at their own pace creates a happier, healthier child. While those articles seem just absolutely perfect, I fear I don’t live in that world.
Our morning’s are full of “Hurry up, come down for breakfast, you have five minutes to dress.” I’m all for relaxing and enjoying the little things in life but sometimes I have a hard time figuring out how to do this and get them where they need to be on time, like school or getting to work on time.
I certainly feel like the grumbling, nagging mom on school mornings. “Get dressed, pack your bag, put your socks on, pick something to eat for breakfast,” are sentences heard regularly in my home on weekdays. It often seems like I’m a broken record stuck on repeat. I wonder to myself and sometimes out loud, why do I have to repeat this each and every morning? I do my best to get prepared the night before (lunches are made, backpacks packed) but even so, mornings are chaotic and so absolutely dependent on moods.
I remind myself of those beautiful written words I’ve read, which really only serves to make me feel guilty about how often I rush my children out the door, nag them until they’re grumpy and then try and apologize and make everyone feel better at the school gate. There’s got to be an easier way.
I’ve done some researching on making hectic (school or daycare) mornings easier. I’m willing to try anything in our routine, so in case you’re feeling desperate alongside me, take a look at some of these suggestions.
- Get them moving. Do a quick stretching routine when they wake up to get them started. You could probably use it too. If nothing else it may make everyone smile.
- Turn on some tunes. Enjoy some relaxing music, soothing music, loud dance music, the chicken dance, the macarana, whatever it takes to change the mood in the morning.
- Set a timer. Use an egg timer or a sand timer so that kids can actually see how much time is left to do the task you’ve asked of them, ie. you need to be dressed and at the table by the time the timer beeps.
- Squash sibling rivalry. Okay, I love this one. If a fight erupts (as it almost always does) try and solve the problem, i.e. “your sister took your spot? Would you like my spot?” Leave a note to discuss it after school so that it doesn’t go unresolved, leaving someone feeling slighted. Just table it to discuss when there’s more time.
- Have a routine etched out and keep it consistent.
- Try to limit screen time as it often becomes a war of “just five more minutes,” which helps contribute to lateness.
- Highlight the positives. Praise good behaviour and fulfilling routines as you’ve asked.
- Have a do over. When moods are terrible and arguing is at an all time high, just start over. Good morning. It’s Thursday. How did you sleep? Be silly and rewind by twirling around to signify everyone’s starting over. Focus on something happening that evening or later in the week.
- Give hugs, when tears appear or smiles disappear. Sometimes a hug can work like magic, not just for them, but for you too.
- Say “yes.” Find something to say yes to. Pick something that really doesn’t affect much but helps keep the peace and make your child happy such as, “sure you can wear that dress, those pants and those shorts today.”
- There’s always tomorrow. When a morning goes awry, take a deep breath after drop off and remind yourself that there is tomorrow. You can try to remember some of these tips or find solutions to problems that are happening in your morning routine to help smooth it out.
- The truth is, these tips might help us argue less in the mornings and get out the door quicker. I try and have a more relaxed life on weekends so that I’m not rushing them seven days a week but it’s a work in progress. I’m still working on figuring out how to possibly live a life where I’m not ushering my kids out the door and nagging them to death. If I come up with any great solutions I’ll be sure to share them. For now though, I’m going to try and remember some of these great tips.
