Building an Effective Morning Routine
Mornings are not easy when you have young children, finding their shoes, getting them dressed and trying to get them to eat a healthy breakfast is all easier said than done. But an effective morning routine can set you and your family up for success.
Get enough sleep
Try to make sure your little ones are going to bed early to get all the sleep they need, and taking naps in the day when possible. If they’re freshly rested, mornings should be even easier.
1 - 3years old = 12-14 hours
3 - 6 years old = 10-12 hours
7 - 11 years old = 10-11 hours
Have some snuggle time
Try to fit in 5-10 minutes of snuggles before it’s time to start getting ready. This can help to put everyone in a good mood and start the day in a relaxing way, instead of with orders, demands or stress.
Give choices
Giving choices, or the illusion of choice, gives your child some autonomy instead of feeling as though they’re just being told what to do in the morning.
Do you want to get dressed first or eat? Do you want to eat this or that cereal? Do you want to wear your blue, or white shirt?
Get things ready the night before
The more you can do the night before, the less stress there is in the morning.
- Set out bowls, spoons, cups and cereal for breakfast
- Make sure coats, shoes and bags are ready by the door
- Pack lunches while dinner is cooking and have them ready in the fridge
- Try even picking out clothes and having them laid out and ready to go in advance
Give them control
For bigger kids, they may feel better getting everything done in the morning if they feel like they are in charge.
Make a list of the things you need your child to do that they can check off as they go. Set timers for each task and let them try to ‘beat’ the clock.
Mornings can be crazy, but hopefully these tips helped out. Have your own tips? Let us know!