As every family knows, mornings can quickly get stressful and overwhelming with children. The start to the day requires quite a bit of work: making a (healthy) breakfast, packing lunches, organizing backpacks and getting young children dressed for the day all before 8AM! I have tried many methods to keep the chaos to a minimum and these are the simplest steps that work for me. Give them a try and let me know if they worked for your family or pass along your own simple tricks for a smooth start to the day.
- Prepare water bottles and backpacks the night before. I prefer not to make lunches the evening before just so they can be as fresh as possible for lunchtime; however, filling water bottles and organizing backpacks are quick and can shave a few minutes of the morning rush. I also include a dissolvable, tasteless probiotic in the boys’ water bottles (And they have no idea :).
These go in the fridge overnight. Organizing the backpack with due homework, papers and library books keeps things moving as well so you and your child are confident nothing is being forgotten. - Be the first to wake up. Impossible sometimes I know. My oldest son, age 7, is the first up in our family every. single. day. He rises with the sun and has since he was a newborn. This obnoxious early morning preference does not bode well with me. I’m a late sleeper. But I’ve realized my blood pressure will be lowered immensely between the hours of 6-8AM if I force myself up a few minutes before he usually is or at least around the same time. Waking up after your children is a tough way to start a weekday morning. They have free reign of the house and pantry and although my 7-year-old keeps to himself and doesn’t do anything disastrous, I like to be present with him as we start the day (although on weekends all bets are off! I have no guilt about sleeping in a bit).
- Use a checklist. For my 7 and even 5-year-old this has been the most effective method to keeping our mornings on track. Having a visually appealing and easy-to-read checklist gives children a sense of accomplishment as they work through tasks such as “eat breakfast” and “brush teeth.” Pinterest provides lots of free printable options for this or make one of your own! Simply type up your child’s morning to-dos in Microsoft Word or handwrite one with colorful drawings for each task. Bonus points: have your children help do this so they feel involved and a sense of responsibility towards it. I printed this one from Carrie This Home and inserted in a paper protector. My sons’ check off each item as its completed with a dry erase marker. They love finishing it off and voila! They are ready for the day with little frustration.
Lifestyle File 