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Back to School! Navigating the Morning Rush

School is back in session for kids all over the land and that means it’s time to get adjust back to the grind.

Are you dreading the early morning struggles with your kids? Anticipating the fight to get them out of bed and out the door?  Oh, and they have to eat breakfast…brush their teeth, if you’re lucky…and get into a yes-I-am-ready-to-learn frame of mind?

The way you start the day with your kids can make the difference for them between a chaotic, stress-filled day and an open, relaxed, learning-filled experience.  A smiling start might perk your mood up too!

Consider the following tips to help make your morning madness a bit closer to sane:

• Prep the night before:

  • What you do the night before is almost more important than the morning routine. The next morning’s outfit can be chosen and laid out. Lunches can be made and packed. Backpacks should be packed up and left by the door. Bath/shower time can also be done at night. On your end, breakfast can be prepared and ready to go.  Or consider creating a breakfast shelf in the pantry and fridge that is easy to reach and has lots of healthy choices for junior to pick from for a make-it-yourself morning meal!

• Bedtime!

  • Make sure that your child is not only getting to bed on time, but is sleeping enough hours. Kids need much more sleep than adults do, and lack of sleep has a number of negative effects beyond having a sleepy kid in the morning. Young kids between 3 and 12 should be sleeping between 10 and 12 hours a night and adolescents should be sleeping 8-9 hours a night.  If your ‘mini-me’ seems out of sorts, do a bit of investigating and make whatever changes, routine or environmental, might be necessary to ensure solid shut eye.

• Make sure YOU get your beauty rest, too!

  • Your sleep is important as well. Yes, I know…who has time…blah, blah, blah…I have 4 kids – I get it!  But as the say in the Federal Aviation Administration – “In the event of an emergency, please put on your oxygen mask before assisting others.”  Try to go to bed a little earlier, get a good night’s sleep and wake up earlier than your kids. Once they’re waking up and ready to go, you can be there to make sure their morning goes smoothly.

• Create a routine!

  • Children respond well to set schedules.  Also, think about building routines that encourage increasing levels of independence and self-sufficiency.  Competence builds confidence – you can Tweet that!  From the moment their alarm goes off, help them set a routine that will keep them on schedule throughout the morning until they enter those hallowed halls of learning.  They’ll thank you one day… maybe.

Until next time, Be Wise.