If you’re tired of stressful mornings with your child, you’re not alone, but we’ve got help for you! Use these tips to make a morning routine for your child that helps you get out the door with ease.
Often Ive had discussions with parents where they say things like ‘….. from the moment I have to get my kids out of bed until I come back from dropping them off at school, my blood pressure runs at an unhealthy high. I am stressed to the max. I am trying my hardest not to yell. I repeat myself a thousand times and my kids they move like molasses. Seriously, they are so sloooooowwww… no hurry to get anywhere……. ‘
We need to start the day on the right foot with our children. So that the first thing they remember is hugs, and kisses, and encouragement to have a great day. The great day that they deserve to have.
5 Tips to Make Your Mornings with Kids Suck Less
1. Be prepared.
My first tip is to start early. This can be as simple as setting out the clothes over the weekend and getting your children to go ahead and go through their clothes. Go ahead and have those discussion about if it’s not okay to wear shorts because it’s ten degrees outside, or go ahead and talk about the scratchy feeling of the tags.
This way on Monday morning when they have to put on their clothes and be in a rush, they aren’t tempted to throw a tantrum or a meltdown because their clothes just don’t fit right.
2. Make things visual and clear.
What I mean by this is use pictures to make it very clear what your children need to get done in the morning. Set it up in a fun and interactive way. Children can see the steps they need to take so that they can get dressed, brush their teeth, eat breakfast, get their things together, and get out the door in a timely manner.
As adults we often get through our day with a to-do list and check-lists. Children are the same way but they need it in a concrete way, so that they can see their steps ticking away.
3. Break it down.
Break it down really, really small. Your child needs your help to break tasks down into little tiny steps. The more your child struggles with getting through the morning routine, the more steps you need to break down for them.
For example, maybe getting dressed is a complete nightmare for you. So many reminders and nagging. Stop! Try a different way. Your child needs the task of getting dressed to be broken down into the different steps.
Maybe your children are rock stars at getting their clothes on when you say, “Get dressed,” but spend 30 minutes after getting their socks on to get downstairs for breakfast. Your child needs you to break down the bathroom routines into smaller steps so they don’t get “stuck”
Basically, wherever your children are struggling most… that’s the part of the morning that you want to break down into teeny, tiny steps.
I know it seems redundant, it seems ridiculous, and it seems like your children are old enough to be able to get ready on their own; but I promise you when you break it down into teeny, tiny steps, they can’t go wrong.
4. Set up a routine and make it a habit.
Do the same thing over, and over, and over again. Practice that routine at night. Practice it a week before they go back to school. And whenever you have a struggle, come together at dinner time, come together another part of the day and talk about what you’re seeing that the family is struggling with.
Ask your children, “I notice that in the mornings there is a lot of arguing going on. Can you tell me what it is that you’re frustrated about. Do you know what is causing you to be arguing with your brother?” Then give them the words and/or strategies to help them solve the problems on their own.
When we put it into our children’s hands, it’s so surprising what they are magically able to problem solve and figure out; but we have to trust them. By making it a routine something that they can expect, they are going to be more successful in the morning.
You are going to be repeating yourself less because it’s going to become second nature.
5. Breath.
Yes, that’s right.
Everyone in the house needs to learn some good old regulation strategies. Even you mum or dad. You need to be able to take a deep breath. You need to be able to center yourself and remind yourself that this is a busy, bustling time for everyone in the house.
With these simple steps, you can transform your mornings into something almost magical. With the right amount of prep work and the right systems, everyone in your house can conquer the morning routine.
