Smooth School Day Mornings
Tips on making your weekday day morning with the school run stress-free
Tick tock, tick tock, the school day morning begins.. rush rush, lunchboxes, raincoats, OH NO! Are they late...s omeone cannot find matching socks! As the New Year unfolds, we see many of our children heading back to school. With a skip, jump and a lot of promise in their hearts they enter the school gates, all the chaos of the morning madness of a few minutes ago... forgotten. You, yourself offer a silent prayer, for it was madness, you were very close to breaking, but you succeed, you are a winner for your clean-ish, somewhat put together kids are in school !!!! From one mother to another I know how hectic the weekday morning routine of getting kids out of bed and into school is. We do it for almost 200 days of the year, day in day out, we are troopers, everyday knowingly we face the recurring battles and emerge victorious. The following tips will give you some helpful hints on how to alleviate some of the stress and make your mornings run smoother and sweeter.
● First of all it is understood that bad behaviour can stem from kids who have not had enough sleep. Make it a priority to make sure your children receive the adequate amount of sleep. Early bedtimes mean happy and rested kids in the morning.
● To make life easier in the mornings, do all the prep work the night before. Lay out clothes, pack school bags, fill water bottles etc. Get your kids to pack their extra curricular bags the night before, this helps to figure out which child has what for the day.
I learnt this the hard way when my son took his sister’s ballet outfit to his swimming class. He was not amused.
● Have a ‘HELP BOX’, which is a box with extra pencils, erasers, change for tuck shop, needle and thread, anything that you can think of that might be needed quickly and urgently during the morning chaos. I would keep it in a central place for quick and easy access. It is definitely a life saviour when buttons fall out at the last minute.
● However difficult it is to enforce, children do enjoy organised routines. Create a chart that has the following activities – Brush teeth, get dressed, comb hair, make bed, eat breakfast, put on shoes. Put the chart up in your kitchen and make it a challenge for the children, to see who will finish first, reward accordingly. This can keep easily distracted kids focused.
● Try and make breakfast as simple as possible. School day breakfast in our house usually consists of cereal, yoghurt, fruit, cheese and milk. Anything that is easy and quick for the children to eat. The lengthy breakfast of kiribath and stringhoppers are left to enjoy over the weekends.
● Despite how much I cherish my sleep, I find that getting up a bit earlier before my children and having fifteen minutes of quiet, alone time does wonders and gets me ready for the day. I don’t feel irritated, I’ve packed lunchboxes whilst I was having my tea and I am ready and prepared to deal with the kids all with a smile.
● Most importantly STAY CALM. Your anxiety and frustration sometimes has the effect of making your children move in slow-motion. We have all been there when we throw out the guide to good parenting and end up shouting and screaming to get anything done.
Now remember, that these suggestions have been tried, tested but are still a work in progress. Even having teenagers, I still have days where I grapple at the absurd calamity that an unplanned school morning brings. Sometimes you also have to do what works for your family. Which ever way you decide to follow, remember that these morning battles are running out, toddlers turn into teenagers, who are counting down the days when their school time ends. Therefore, this year remember to live and enjoy the moment, embrace the chaos and make it work for you. LET'S GET TO SCHOOL KIDS!
To make life easier in the mornings, do all the prep work the night before. Lay out clothes, pack school bags, fill water bottles etc