Mornings are already stressful enough with the time crunch, but add your children in the mix and it can seem like an impossible task. Although back to school has already happened, maybe you’re still trying to figure out what morning routine works for your family!

Here are a few tips and ways to get your kids ready in the morning without the stress and anxiety!

1. Establish a Morning Routine

Creating a morning routine for kids is the first step of being able to get everyone ready in the morning without unnecessary stress. Make sure that you emphasize that a morning routine isn’t optional, but mandatory for the family. 

Getting kids ready for school starts the night before by making sure your children get enough sleep. This will ensure that they’ll be able to get up in the morning. To do this, establish both a bedtime and wake up time. You can enforce their wake up time by creating a rule saying if they don’t get up after being called twice, then their bedtime will be pushed 10 minutes earlier each time. 

2. Wake Up Before the Kids

Getting up before the kids, even if it’s just 10 or 15 minutes earlier, ensures that you’ll have time for yourself to get things done. You’ll be able to have a cup of coffee or get dressed without having to helping your kids get ready at the same time. By getting up earlier, it also makes sure that you’ll be ready and prepared for your day ahead and starts your day off on a good note before the kids get up.

3. Make List / Chart

Sometimes toddlers and kids can have trouble remembering all the steps or things they need to do in the morning. You can help them by creating a checklist for the essentials: brush teeth, comb and do hair, wash face, get dressed, eat breakfast, put on shoes, get backpack and lunchbox, and go out the door. By creating a to-do list, it helps to avoid your child constantly asking you what’s next or missing out on important steps that they have to go back and do.  You can discuss with your child to figure out what they need to do in the morning and the order of steps that works best for them! It lets them be more independent and gives you more time to do other things.

4. Skip Out on TV and Screen Time 

Try to avoid the television and other screen time activities, such as playing with a phone or game console in the mornings. These things can potentially slow down your kid’s morning routine where they might prefer to stay and linger rather than getting what they need to do done. Instead of screen time, you can try putting on kids morning music instead for your children to enjoy! However, if you really want screen time and TV to be a part of the routine, try to save it for after your children are done with everything and have some time to spare. It can serve as a reward for getting ready on time.

5. Prep the Night Before

The morning rush doesn’t leave a lot of spare time, so try to make your mornings easier by preparing certain things the night before! One thing you can prepare are lunch boxes, that can sit in the refrigerator until the next morning. You can also prepare breakfast the night before with easy and overnight recipes. 

For your kids, make sure they finish their homework and put everything they need for the next day into their school bags. This will avoid the possibility of them having to scramble and look for things in the morning. You can also have them choose an outfit the night before that includes underwear, socks, tops, bottoms, shoes, and accessories. This will give them time to think about what they want to wear without taking precious minutes out of their mornings. Having a set outfit will help them get ready for school quicker in the morning! The only time outfits should be changed the next morning would be due to unexpected weather changes, spills, or tears.

6. Assign Designated Areas

These should be certain areas for essentials for both you and your children. It can include and area or cubby for backpacks, coats, shoes, umbrellas, lunch bags, etc. For you, it would include a space where your cell phone, keys, purse, and wallet always go. Not only will this help your children get to school on time, but having an organized and designated space will let you and your family be able to just grab and go!

7. Breakfast Time

It can be a challenge in the mornings to get your child to eat. So how do you get kids to eat breakfast in the morning? It is an essential for your kids to start the day since it is the most important meal, so it shouldn’t be something that is skipped because it is difficult. You can try planning out a weekly breakfast menu with your kids to layout what they will have everyday of the week. Or you can have them choose between two different options the night before. This will give them more control and independence over what they will eat and having them participate in menu making could make them more excited for breakfast!

8. Use Alarm Clocks

If your children are older, you can establish more independence for them by giving them their own individual alarm clocks. This will give them more responsibility with their wake up times in the morning. You can discuss with them what time they think is best for them to set it at and adjusting it later if it doesn’t allow them to get everything done. Trial and error is okay! It will give them a learning experience and you also won’t have to constantly yell at them to wake up every morning.

9. Show Example Behavior

Your behavior in the morning can influence how your kids also act in the morning. If you’re constantly rushing for time and stressed out, how do you expect your children to be on time and prepared? Staying calm and collected in the morning can also help your little ones do the same. It can also help establish a positive mentality towards mornings and show that a morning routine isn’t a bad thing.

10. Break from the Routine

While a routine is essential, taking breaks from it can also be good and can serve as a reward for your children. An example would be letting them sleep in on the weekends on holidays or being able to relax while doing their morning essentials, such as having breakfast with the television on.

Now that we’ve talked about some morning routine ideas you can incorporate for your family, we hope this will make your future mornings a bit easier!

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