5 Keys To An Easier Morning Routine

School is starting back up and lots of families are struggling with the morning routine. Setting yourself up for success creates less rushing, mornings will go smoother and who knows, maybe you’ll even get to school and work on time. A child that feels rushed and stressed in the morning will be predisposed to anxiety at school and drop-offs will be harder. Creating some space for connection, a slow routine and tools that empower independence will make mornings better for everyone. Here are some tips on how to make your morning go faster:

Start Day with Connection

One reason mornings go wrong is that kids haven’t had their bucket filled up. Instead, it’s been emptied by to do lists, orders, rushing, and stress. Starting the day of slowly and gently can really help kids start the day with a full bucket and positive outlook. At our house, we start of the day when I get into bed with my sleeping kids, still sipping my coffee, mind you, and just snuggling with them. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we don’t and eventually, it transitions into what they might wear that day if it wasn’t already laid it out the night before. Other families make sure they eat a distraction-free breakfast together or read a book. Whatever your way of doing it is, tuning in to the people involved FIRST rather than the chores to be done will make a world of difference in how cooperative those little people are.

Time to Wake Up

Not all kids wake up raring to go. Some need time to wake up and some do better with sleeping in. After asking my kids what would help them in the morning, the unanimous answer was time to wake up and be left alone. They decided 15 minutes was enough, so after they’ve had that time, they are much more willing to get up and get moving. This indicates to me that they need one of the three kinds of time – Alone Time (time to process) first thing in the morning. My daughter sometimes goes so far as to cover her head with a blanket so no one talks to her. I liken this to not wanting to talk until I’ve had my first cup of coffee in silent morning bliss – I get it, she needs space.

Get Yourself Up Early Enough

Speaking of my morning coffee bliss – a critical part of having your day go well is to get yourself up and ready before the kids need to start getting ready. This eliminates one whole set of worries and you can focus on them rather than having the stress of needing to run to school with bed head and fuzzy slippers on. Like so many things in parenting, put your own gas mask on first, then worry about the other stuff. Take care of yourself – the rest will follow.

Visual Aids Decrease Nagging and Yelling

If you are tired of reminding your kids to brush their teeth, comb their hair, grab their backpacks and being responsible for remembering pretty much everything then a visual aid is for you. Together with your kids, make a list with fun clip art or crude drawings like mine. It’s important to include the kids in developing the routine so they have some ownership of it. That way you are doing it “with them” not “to them.

morning routine — Our very crude chart that works

However you want to do your list if fine, but the visual aid is key. Some people laminate theirs and use dry erase markers, some make cards and put them in baseball card sleeves, others use sleeve protectors. It doesn’t matter and it definitely doesn’t have to be Pinterest Perfect, just get something up on the wall in an easy to spot location. Pre-readers will benefit from photos and the words underneath help build that word base.

The routine can include some freedom. At our house as long as the list of things gets done (that’s actually what we call them “The Things”), I don’t worry about the order in which it gets done. Sometimes shoes go first, sometimes they go last as long as it gets done I’m happy. When I see my kids getting off track or playing and “The Things” aren’t done I go over and say “Are The Things done? What are you planning on doing next?” Sometimes a guided walk back to the list is needed to check and continue the process. It decreases my mental load by a lot having them being responsible for the list instead of me being responsible for harping about all the things on it.

Prep the Night Before

This isn’t everyone’s thing but I like prepping the night before because I hate waking up early. So we built into our afternoon routine that backpacks get unloaded and lunchboxes brought to the kitchen after school and they get repacked after dinner. This gives me more time for that cup of coffee, of which I am clearly attached.

Those are my fairly simple tips to have mornings go more smoothly because when you start the day off well, with a slow pace, moving as a team (rather than a drill sergeant with a tiny, uncooperative army) your kids will separate from you more easily at school, be more confident starting their day and their brains will be open and ready for learning. You’ll also find that the extra time put in at first will save you more time and stress in the long-haul. A solid routing done right may also just leave your kids a little more time to play once it’s all done, thereby reinforcing all that cooperation.

Now, go start your day off right and don’t forget to set that coffee timer!

What does your morning routine look like? Share photos or comments below. We’d love more ideas!