She rushes into the building, looking a bit frazzled. She’s holding her toddler under one arm, and she’s holding her preschooler’s hand with the other.
My friend is late for preschool drop off and I can tell she’s had one rough morning.
She looks at me, and says “How do you do it? The mornings just kill me!”
I admit, I am totally one of those Moms. I’m a bit Type A and I’m always, always on time.
Now that’s not a “hey look how much I rock” kind of thing. It’s just that I’m so anxious about time that I just can’t be late…it ruins my whole day. Anyone who knows me, knows how painfully true this is. It’s not always fun my friends.
Anyway, I talked to my friend later and she genuinely wanted to know how I do it. So, this post is for you.
Dear sweet friend,
Get Up Before the Kids
I know, I know. You probably don’t want to hear this. But, when we take a few minutes to get ourselves put together and ready for the day, it’s amazing how much smoother the morning will go.
I’m not talking about getting up and hour or more before your kids, although that would be best, 10 minutes will work too.
The important thing is to get woken up, possibly drink a cup of coffee, and get an attack plan for the day.
I know you’re not an early riser like me, and that’s okay, but this is really the most important thing I do every morning. I love being able to get everything ready before my kids get up. Sometimes I take a shower, pack bags, start breakfast. But most of the time I just enjoy having some me time before the chaos begins.
Anything you can do before they get up is one less thing you have to do when you’re in a mad rush later.
Prepare Outfits
Personally, I am not one who picks out clothes the night before. You know my son, he would decide that what he wanted to wear the night before isn’t what he wants to wear the next morning, and then he’d totally fall apart.
Plus, I’m tired at night and just don’t want to take the effort to do it.
Here’s my favorite Mom Hack, that I hope helps you out. When I’m folding my 4 year old’s laundry, I fold outfits together and put them in a drawer.
This way, he has a weeks worth of outfits to pick from in the morning. All he does is grab an outfit roll from the drawer and get dressed.
He ends up wearing something that I approve of and he still gets to be independent and choose what he wants to wear. It’s a win-win.
The Morning Routine
During hard times of the day (bedtime and mornings usually being the hardest) it’s important to have a good routine. Every morning we do the exact same thing, no matter where we go, or what time we have to leave.
Here’s our routine:
From that point on, we either play until it’s time to go, or we get our shoes on and head out the door. We discuss the plan for the day during breakfast, so the boys know what’s expected of them.
Most days it’s work first (getting ready) then time to play.
Have a Set Place for Shoes, Bags, and Jackets
Children as young as your two-year-old can be responsible for getting their shoes and jackets. The trick is, that they have to know where they are.
One of the best things I’ve done when it came our morning routine, is having a place for our stuff.
For example, our shoes are in the closet and we have a little bench where we sit to put on shoes.
When I say that it’s time for shoes and socks, my boys get their own shoes and come sit at the bench where I’m waiting. Sometimes it does take some cajoling and asking to get them to stop playing, but once they do, they go right to it.
We also get jackets at this time, and our bags are ready and packed on the table heading out the door. I usually do this during playtime or when I’m cleaning up the kitchen in the morning.
When it’s built into your routine and you do it the same way every day, it’s easy for them to just do it…without a lot of stress.
Now, hear me friend. The most important part of a morning routine is being consistent. Once your kids start doing the same thing every single morning, it starts becoming routine. You won’t have to nag (as much) because your kids will just know what’s expected of them.
Also remember that, your family is different than my family. Our routine may look different than yours. Sit down, and figure out what your family needs and make a routine that works for you. Don’t just take mine and make it fit with you…there’s a good chance it won’t work.
I really, really do hope that this helps your mornings.
Love,
Amanda
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Thank you so much for posting this. I am NOT a morning person by nature, but part of that is because I love the peace and quiet I get when everybody is in bed. The problem there is that with school schedules, I’m FORCED to get up early, but I still stay up late for my “me time” and for getting the chores done that I couldn’t with little thwarting hands following me everywhere. Maybe I can make an attack plan and break the cycle!
We are the same! Although I give props to my husband because he handles mornings. But we are pretty much on board, especially with having a routine and doing everything exactly the same each morning. One thing I do have over him is waking up before the kids. He absolutely refuses too (well, at least he gets up 5 minutes before them), but when it’s me—I’m up at least 30-45 minutes just to wake MYSELF up.
Please don’t recommend to people that children watch tv shows first thing in the morning. There is plenty of research to suggest that children get to school with brains switched off. Yours may not be at school yet but this habit may be hard to break.
I hear your concern, for sure. I’m not recommending it, just sharing what works for us. I actually encourage others to make a routine that works for them. No need to do tv if you don’t want to. This in the only tv time my kids get and it’s working well for us right now. We’ll adjust later if we need to.
Dear Amanda and all of the non morning people. I have just recently become aware of the importance of everything said in this post! I am everything but a morning person. I have 6 children and work full time as a daycare teacher so I am ALWAYS tired. The last thing I want to do is get up in the morning. But I just started opening the daycare (which is 6:30am). I am high strung and anxious about everything! Having to wake up super early and before the kids has proven (to me) that my day goes a lot better than before. I’m no longer rushed and getting home early makes it nice for quality time with ALL of my children!! This is a great post and everyone should at least try it!! Thank you for all of your posts, I love them all!
I love my morning time!
Wow! An hour and half for yourself and a further hour and half getting kids ready! Hardly a mad rush.
Interesting that tv features as part of your boys’ morning routine.
No, our mornings are not a mad rush, there’s no need for them to be. My son (who is now in kinder) gets on the bus at 8:30, so the timing still works for us. Yep, that hour and a half for “me time” is when I work, I run a business so it’s necessary. Also, the TV is the only time my kids watch during the day, it’s the busiest time of our day, so the tv gives me the time to get everything done. The point, is to make a routine that works best for you and your kids. I just showed you how you can do it and some tips to make it easier on everyone.
Holy judgemental much?
Amanda kudos to you for keeping your cool and composure in your replies! And great advice!
Thanks Kat, I was surprised when so many people got upset by how I run our mornings. To each their own…
I love this! My daughter will be starting nursery soon and I will need some of these tips! I don’t know why everyone makes such a big deal about tv. My daughter happens to sleep better when she watches before bed, some watch in the morning, and some don’t watch at all 🙂
On an unrelated note, where did you get his wellies…what brand are they? They’re so so cute!
Target 🙂
Love this! I was the oldest in a family of 8 homeschooled children, and I know growing up, our happiest times were when we had a morning routine in place. The whole day ran so much smoother that we had more time left over from our studies and chores, and made many a joyous memory. 🙂 Now I have three little ones of my own, and have been shamefully sporadic about implementing a morning routine, but when we are following one, it definitely makes our home a more peaceful place, too. And I get tons more accomplished throughout the course of the day!
I need help with my daughter. I like things to go the same daily as well. I wake up earlier than her. We have a place for shoes, bags are by the door, lunch is made for her, etc. but she still will not do what is expected of her quickly. She’s 6, in 1st grade, on the 3rd week of school & every morning has been a fight. We have made lists of what she needs to do-she erased it & started writing or drawing; we tried stickers for doing it all in time; the only thing that’s gets her to hurry is if she gets to ride to school with the neighbors. She has to be reminded of eating quicker, brushing teeth, picking out shoes, etc.
Any ideas to help me?
Truly useful, look frontward to coming back again