My kids are heading back to school soon. Does anyone have any tips on how to get everyone up and out in the mornings?
By Ellie
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
Probably the most important thing is making sure they are getting enough sleep. My girls need 10 hours of sleep each night. I know it sounds like a lot, but it is normal for children to need that much. It is so hard to get that much sleep when school is in session, but it does pay off.
Children 3 - 6 years old need 10-12 hours of sleep per day.
Children 7 - 12 years old need 10-11 hours of sleep.
Children 13 - 18 need 8-9 hours a day (although this varies greatly. Some need much more and some need less. These are general guidelines.)
I agree with Packlestax that the best thing for a peaceful morning is to get as much ready the night before as possible. I pack a lunch for my husband to take for work. I do that while I am cleaning up supper. Lunches for the children could be made at the same time. Things can get very hectic after supper with all the things that need to get done.
If you could shift some things to after school gets out, it would be worth it. Then you could spend some time relaxing before bed time. For example, when your child gets home from school, you could have him/her go through their backpack to get all assignments and parent notes out and pick out their outfit for the next day. Then after a snack and short break, they could work on their home work.
I hope you find this helpful.
For us, using an alarm (rather than me waking her) seems to help a little. She can't argue with the alarm. We try to remember to lay her clothes out the night before. And, when she's been really uncooperative and didn't get herself completely ready, I've let her go to school with un-brushed hair. I figure if she doesn't like going to school with crazy looking hair, she'll learn that she needs to get moving in the mornings.
When she was very cranky and didn't want anything I offered her for breakfast, I let her go to school without eating anything. Of course, she complained that she was hungry, but I told her she'd really enjoy having lunch. The next day she ate what I offered. I'm trying to teach her that there are consequences for her behavior and choices.
I have tried scooting her bedtime earlier when she seems very tired in the morning. This helped some. But she's just not a morning person, so it's hard to get her moving no matter what.
When it comes to getting everyone up and out in the mornings here are some of my favorite tips and ideas after asking myself "How long does each family member realistically need to get ready?"
*Set up individual wake-up times so everyone has sufficient time to get up and out. I personally add an extra ten minutes to ensure we can handle the unexpected without being late.
*Make sure every room in your home has a clock so everyone can stay on top of the time. (It doesn't have to be an expensive one - a battery operated clock from a dollar store will work fine.)
*To increase efficiency, use a timer to monitor things like shower length or time spent in front of the bathroom mirror.
*Set up personal grooming space in everyone's bedrooms.
*Give a ten minute warning before it's time to leave.
Hope the above ideas help.
I am a mother/grandmother. My best advice that I can give is to get everything ready the night before. The baths, clothes picked out, backpacks packed, lunches packed and left in refrigerator or lunch money packed in backpack, homework done and in backpack.
I ask each of my kids how much time they think they need in the morning, add 10 minutes, and have them set alarm clocks for that time. I also call the house when I get to the office (single mom) to be sure everyone is up and moving.
I'm going to pre-make breakfast burritos for my son - scrambled eggs, cheese and tortilla - so he'll have quick protein to move on in the morning, and lunch will be made the evening before. The challenge will be for him to look in the fridge and take his lunch out.
My (second) husband and I needed to go to work. My 3 sons (close in age) all needed to go to school. So...
First of all, I got all their clothes, backpacks and everything else together before bed.
In the morning, I got up first and took my shower. Husband was next (while I did my Yoga and stretching.) Then my oldest went into the shower and I started preparing breakfast. Then it was son #2's turn, as I continued the breakfast and did other things. Finally it was third son's turn in the shower, as breakfast finished cooking.
Then we all ate, I dropped the kids off at school, and hubby and I went to work! Smooth as a non-rashed baby's bottom!
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
