Mornings with Kids-Getting Out is Hard
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We live in the North Country. Sunrise is often close to 7:30 A.M. My son wants to rise later as the sun rises later. My child has to be at school at 7:45 A.M. We have to be up and out before 7 A.M. so I appreciated this article in Nov. Dec. WebMD.com. called Good Morning: How to get the kids and yourself out the door without a daily battle: http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/getting-the-kids-to-school-without-a-struggle.
We have already gotten a lot of mileage out of one of their suggesions - the night before pre-emptve strike (planning ahead). The nights we don't pack everything, lay out clothes and jackets etc. result in mornings from hell
(literally).
The one we're working on is "Try a little respect."
What works for you in making morning managable?
First off, I am in a different world, both literally and figuratively .... here in FL, the sun is up early, but also (for some as-yet-to-be-explained-to-me-reason) elementary school doesn't start until 9:30am. I'm used to it starting by 8am at the latest, but we do things differently here, I often call it BLEEP-backwards and upside down, but I'm trying to be more positive these days (haha !)
What I've learned with my son (who is very difficult in the morning) is that he needs a LOT of transition time (he's 11). So I get him up around 7:30am in order to get him into the shower (literally I walk him from the bed to the shower) the warm water kind of transitions him from being asleep to being awake. Now I have to say this isn't going so well while it's cold, he doesn't like to be cold so showers in the morning are rough. He also needs that almost 2hour period to get ready for the day. In the morning I also remind him of anything going on that afternoon (Science Club or CUbscouts or whatever) He doesn't like things sneaking up on him, he has to prepare himself.
I'm serious, most kids (including my other ones) don't get told they're going to get a shot until on their way to the doctor's office or until the nurse informs them at the appointment. This child does better if I give him time to digest whatever the situation is, even if it's something he's not going to like (probably especially if that's the case) than being surprised and caught off guard.
I don't know if any of these ideas will help you out or not, not sure how your child reacts to things .... but after much trial and error, I've found these to be the best way to start our day, at least with this little guy. Now the other ones, let them sleep til absolutely necessary, they need their sleep more than they need transition time.
If I think of any other helpful hints I'll re-post, in the meantime, I'll check out that link, thank you for sharing it !
Thanks for the suggestions. No daylight has a definite effect on us getting moving in the AM. I keep telling my husband we can still move to a warm sunny place.
You're right about the transition time - very helpful.
Hi there,
I make coffee the night before and set it to 6 AM, lay out bowls and cereal, cups for juice, and even their vitamins. The kids shower the night before, and I check homework/sign papers the night before as well. I have them lay out their uniforms for school, and either I pack lunches or they do. I also make sure they are to bed by 8:30, no later than 9. That helps too, otherwise they get cranky! Sometimes I don't have the energy to do all that at night, and we all pay for it! So most of the time I try and prepare things so mornings are easier on us...it is unbelievable how much it helps!
You are so right about the evening prep. There is no redeeming the situation at 6 AM if we didn't get it together the night before. Definitely is harder after evening events. SO many scheduled events for little kids don't end until after 8 and we get home late. The mom juggling adventure continues.
OH MY GOODNESS .... glad it's not just me ..... with 4 kiddos, even if they only each have one activity, we're out a LOT of evenings, OR I'm out with one of them and the others are home doing homework-with-daddy (let's just leave that subject alone, ok ?) and as tonight (first softball game of the season) it was at 6pm, so not enough time between everyone getting home and having to be at the game .... so dinner didn't happen til after 8pm .... but it's not EVERY night, or at least not EVERY time of the year, there are some season that are busier than others .... and sometimes, dinner is what you make of it (hahaha !!!!)
Now that I think of it though, I'd better check to make sure everyone has clean socks for tomorrow, say a prayer that I can find clean and matching (biggie there !) clothes for everyone, and I'm thinking and hoping that there is breakfast and lunchfood for packing, because goodness knows, I'm about pooped and don't feel like running to WalMart or sorting laundry at this point I just want to fall asleep reading a book (that is unless a back-rub was offered, hahahaha !)
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