How to Create a Smooth Morning Routine for Your Child
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It’s inevitable. School is starting here in Indiana in just 4-6 weeks whether we’re ready or not! (I’m not sure why, but it felt like eLearning took 1,456 days to finish, and it feels like summer vacation has only last 2 weeks?!) And if you’re a parent, then quite possibly the thought of having to get your child up and around for school in the morning when they’ve been able to sleep in since March might just be enough to terrify you. And if that’s not enough, the new schedules that schools are proposing for return to school could really mess up your child’s morning. I know the morning is going to start about a half hour earlier for us than in years past because our school district has decided to start school a half hour earlier due to busing issues. Am I thrilled? Not really. The thought of fighting with a preteen who already didn’t like getting up when things were normal wasn’t my idea of fun. And now that he’ll have to get up a half hour earlier? Yeah, that my friend could be the stuff nightmares are made of. So before we reach that point, I’m forcing myself to stop and think (and share with you!) about what has worked well in the past so that we can start the school year off right.
Where to Start
It may sound a little cuckoo, but a great morning actually starts the night before. So here is every single thing that we do to make sure our morning runs as smoothly as possible.
First up: Homework
Unless you have a preschooler or your child attends a school that has done away with homework (as a parent, I’m jealous!), then this is something that inevitably must get done before the start of school the next day. Please, please, please, please, PLEASE don’t allow your child to tell you that they’ll get up early and do it before school the next morning. Cause guess what? It’s a LIE! They won’t want to do it any more then either. So just suck it up and insist that it gets done the night before it’s due. If you’re not sure how to make that happen, read this article titled “HOW TO CREATE A SMOOTH EVENING ROUTINE FOR YOUR CHILD.” Once the homework is done, PLEASE make sure that your child puts it back into their backpack. Remember, it’s not your homework. If you put it in your child’s backpack for them, you’re not teaching them responsibility. And I promise that contrary to what you child might try to convince you, no child has ever died from having to put their own homework in their backpack. Trust me, I’m speaking from 11 years of mom experience where no one has died and 15 years of teacher experience where no one has died from this.
Second: Clothes
Let your child help you decide what to wear to school the next day the night before. (See how I plan for a week’s worth of school clothes here.) Then lay that outfit out in a place that your child can easily access it the next morning. Lay out everything: shirt, pants/shorts, socks, shoes, underwear…you get the idea. Lay out every.single.piece the outfit requires so that there is no frantic searching for a missing item the night before. If you have girls, this includes jewelry and hair accessories. Having everything already in once place will help the morning go as smoothly as possible.
Third: Lunches
If your child prefers to carry their lunch instead of buying a school lunch, then prepare as much of the lunch as you can the night before. (Read my article on how I plan for school lunches here.) If your child likes to have a say in what he or she eats for lunch each day, then include them in this. Put the food that needs to go in plastic sandwich bags or containers into them, and then put them on a designated spot in the refrigerator if they need refrigerated. Then all you have to do is grab it and go in the morning. If the food doesn’t need refrigerated, place it in your child’s lunch box right then. Then you don’t have to worry about what you did with it in the morning (I speak from experience on this one.). Also do NOT allow your child to change their mind about that day’s lunch in the morning. I don’t care how big of a tantrum your child has in the morning because they don’t want that peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch today that sounded so good last night. It won’t hurt them to eat it for lunch today. And by not letting your child change their lunch choice, you’ll be teaching the importance of making a decision and sticking to it. (Bonus points for you for teaching a life skill!)
Fourth: Breakfast
My kids decide what they want to have for breakfast the next morning the night before. This is usually a conversation we have as soon as we pick up dinner. (See my post on planning ahead for school morning breakfasts here.) That gives me time to prepare their breakfasts a few minutes before I wake them up. So when my kids wake up in the morning, breakfast is sitting at the table waiting on them. All they have to do is eat it. Again, if they complain that it suddenly doesn’t sound good, do NOT make them another breakfast. The worst thing that can happen is that they decide not to eat it that morning, are hungry until lunch, and learn that you mean what you say and they need to stick to their decisions. Your child won’t starve. I promise.
Fifth: Have a set wake up time.
Have a set time that your child needs to wake up, and stick to it. No more begging for “Just 5 more minutes of sleep!”. Because those 5 more minutes of sleep will get pushed into 10 more minutes, then 15 more minutes, and before you know it, you’re all running late and everyone is fighting and rushing. NOT a good start to anyone’s day, and you certainly can’t expect your child to have a good day at school when their morning started off like that.
Sixth: Have a routine and stick to it.
Kids thrive on routine. They really do. Just like with an evening routine, you could take pictures of your child doing each activity and post those pictures somewhere in your house where your child could easily see them. You could print 1,000 copies of this list and have your child check off each activity as it’s done. However you decide to do it, stick to it. After a while, this routine will become such second nature that your kids will just do it without much fussing because they’ll know what to expect.
Routine, routine, routine
In case you can’t tell, I’m very big on routines. Routines are what help children function successfully. It might take a few weeks, or months depending on your kiddo, but eventually you’ll be so glad you took the chance. You won’t have such a grumpy kid in the mornings, and chances are pretty good neither of you will leave for school or work in a bad mood anymore. And just because you’ve never had a routine before doesn’t mean it’s too late to start one this school year. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. I can’t wait to hear all about it!
