If there is one thing that every parent knows, it is that mornings can be a very stressful time in the day. Sure, bedtime has a reputation for being frustrating for many parents as a lot of young children will refuse to go to bed. However, the morning is also dreaded by many parents. After all, your kids might be super tired and grouchy, and they might not be looking forward to school at all. If they are going to put up a fight, you better believe that they will do so first thing in the morning!
Of course, this isn’t always a good time for you as a parent. If you aren’t a morning person, then you might not be ready to have to fight to get your kids dressed and out of the door in time for school! Do you find that you have started to dread the early morning starts during the week? I’m sure you aren’t the only parent, so there’s no need to feel completely alone. Plus, there are plenty of ways you can create a morning routine that works for everyone and makes it super easy for you to get organized in the morning. If you read on, you will find all of my tips. Once you start to use them, you will never be late for the school run again!
Ensure Your Kids Sleep Well
First of all, it’s always important that you try to encourage your kids to get a good night’s sleep. That way, they won’t be so likely to wake up grouchy and in a bad mood. If they get plenty of sleep, then they will wake up refreshed and ready to face the day ahead of them! Do you find that your kids really struggle to get to sleep most nights? Here are some ways you can try to make it easier for them.
- Establish a better bedtime routine. Kids love routines, and if you have one in place before they go to bed, it will help their body and mind prepare better for sleep. Not only that, though, but this routine will also let them know what is just around the corner, so they should be a lot less resistant to going to bed.
- Turn off screens at least an hour before their bedtime. There has been lots of research carried out into the effect that the blue light from screens has on sleep. The results do not look good. In fact, many studies show that both adults and children will find it a lot harder to get to sleep if they use a laptop, mobile phone, or tablet device an hour before they go to bed. That’s because the blue light messes with our hormones, especially the one that makes the body and mind sleep.
- Don’t give them a large meal right before bed. If you do, then the meal will be weighing on their stomach, and this could make it quite uncomfortable for them in bed. Ideally, give them dinner two hours before bedtime. If they complain about hunger in the run-up to bed, then you can give them a small snack like a piece of fruit or yogurt.
Make Sure Everyone Has A Good Breakfast
Another great tip to ensure everyone stays in a good mood and more cooperative in the mornings is to make sure your kids have a good breakfast. In fact, it’s advisable to sit down as a family and enjoy this meal together. This gives you the chance to spend quality time together. As well as that, it should mean that you are getting up in plenty of time to organize everyone before the school run so your morning doesn’t just turn into one big rush. One reason why kids can be so grumpy in the morning is because they are hungry. So, at least sitting down to eat something can put them in a better mood. Not only that, though, but it will provide them with plenty of energy to get through the start of the day.
Invest In Things That Will Keep You Organized
It will really be worth buying a few things that can help you stay organized in the mornings and items that can save you some time. For instance, you might want to buy some drawer organizers. These are small compartments that can be put into all of your drawers to break up the space in them. If you add these to your drawers, you can then have a compartment for everyone in your household. This will then make it a lot easier for you all to find things in the morning. Things like a hair dryer and dishwasher will cut down on the number of chores you need to carry out in the morning too. You can then just focus on getting you and your kids ready for the day.
Prep The Evening Before
There will be a lot of preparation that you can do the evening before to try to ensure that the following morning runs as smoothly as possible. One great example of some evening prep is packing your kids’ school bags. If you get all of their books and stationery ready the night before, then you can pack their bags so that you don’t have to in the morning. That’s one more job removed from your morning to-do list! Another job that can be done in advance of the morning is making their packed lunches. Just remember to keep them in the fridge overnight so that they stay fresh until the next day.
Don’t Give Any Lunch Box Options
One thing that kids seem to argue a lot about is what they want in their lunch box. I’m sure that you will have lots of healthy ideas, such as sandwich fillings, snacks, and drinks. These might not line up with your children’s ideas of what make a delicious lunch, and you might find that they try to persuade you to swap some of the healthy options with some less-healthy snacks and food. The best way to beat this is to not give your kids any choice over what goes in their boxes. Simply make them up when they aren’t taking any notice. That should cause a lot fewer arguments between you all. It’s also worth sending each child to school with the same things in their lunch box. That way, there will be no sibling fighting over who has the best lunch!
Write Up A Plan For All To See
You could find that using a wall planner will be very useful indeed. You can then write up everyone’s morning schedule and put it in a public place so that everyone can check to see what they should be doing. This will be a lifesaver if your family are always arguing over things like who can use the bathroom first. You can split the morning into half-hour slots and allocate everyone a slot to use the bathroom, have breakfast, and get dressed, etc. When you start to stick to a morning plan like this, you will find that you can all get ready in a very organized and calm manner!
Talk To Your Kids In The Evening About What To Expect The Next Day
It could be wise to speak to your kids about the mornings in advance. Why not have a quick work with them in the evening regarding the morning ahead. This is especially useful if there is going to be any change to the routine for whatever reason. Once they have a heads up about any changes, they will be able to prepare for them, and you will find that they will be a lot more likely to cooperate with you in the morning.
Get Ready First Before Seeing To The Kids
You will find that things will go a lot quicker if you get yourself ready before seeing to the kids. Why not wake up half an hour or so before the kids’ alarms will go off so that you can focus on yourself? Then, once you are completely ready, you can dedicate the rest of your morning to sorting out your little ones and ensuring they get ready on time.
Try To Stay Calm
It can be easy for things to go wrong in the morning when you have a lot to juggle. If things start to go wrong, you might find that your stress levels start to rise. Regardless, it’s best to try to stay as calm as possible. Otherwise, you could start to agitate your kids, which could cause them to misbehave. If your kids do get mischievous, you should never get angry or raise your voice at them. They will only likely retort with more aggression, and that could completely end your usual morning routine for the day.
It isn’t always easy trying to get the whole family out of the house every morning. As long as you set up a good morning routine, though, you’ll find that it’s more manageable!