Ever feel like an ogre when you get kids up for school? Ever feel like time is slipping away and that you’re nagging them?
Chances are that if you don’t start your morning routine the night before, you might be an unintentional ogre.
Here are a few ideas to help you breeze through your mornings.
- Pack everything but lunch the night before: notes to the teacher, books, homework, etc. Lay the needed jacket or coat on top of the backpack and place it by the door you use to leave for school (or daycare if that is part of your morning).
- Take the time to show your kidlets how to pack things neatly in their backpack so it is easy to find once they reach school. Workup to having it be their responsibility to load the backpack. (And, when they return home, unload their backpack and get the necessary notes, books, homework, etc. HANDED to you.) If you can maintain a constant place to pack and unpack each day it will more easily become a habit.
- Work out the best procedure for your child’s morning. Walk young kids through your expectations. (Remember getting ready for school is rather vague so do a run-through, a practice an evening before you institute your plan.Walk them through it as often as it takes to help the habit settle in. Maybe make a chart to hang in their rooms if that helps.) Each of us has different needs in the morning. For some of us, we get up, make our beds, and get right to dressing and heading to breakfast. For others, the sequence may look different. Just be certain you and your kids have a plan that will allow them to be ready to leave 5 minutes before your actual departure time.
- A positive send-off. As you and your children ‘go your separate ways’, always try to share a positive moment to start both of your days. It can be a hug and a kiss, a silly joke, a brief mention of what your day holds, or something that will give you and well as your child a high-5 start. (We all appreciate a relaxed beginning or a positive comment before we head to work or to school.
How do you start your mornings with kids?
Send me your ideas that allow a relaxed, positive beginning and I’ll share them with others who read this blog.