5 Simple Steps to Get Your Children Out of the House in the Morning

Why does it feel like some mornings it takes an act of God to get your children out the door?   

Take the stress out of mornings with some very simple steps which will make a smooth transition from bed to bus stop!

  1. Pack backpacks the night before.  Once homework is done, place everything you need for the next day in it.  There should be a “set” place for them, too! This might sound silly, but how many times has your backpack grown legs and moved from one room to another unbeknownst to you and all of a sudden there’s an extra 3 minutes (and high stress) looking for the backpack?  Pick a spot!

  2. Prepare lunch boxes/snacks the night before.  Parents, this is for you!  You have enough on your plate (literally) in the mornings, don’t add to it.  Prepare all of this the night before so you and your child can grab and go in the morning.

  3. Breakfast is only served when your child is fully dressed.  MEANING: once your child leaves their bedroom in the morning, they do not return!   That means socks and shoes are on before they eat.  How much time is wasted putting socks and shoes on right before you walk out the door?  It will stop the yelling, arguments and stress. Enforce this and it will become a habit quite quickly…and you will have more peace in the mornings.

  4. After eating, the last thing they do is brush their teeth.  Good hygiene is important and that happens after they eat!  Yes, this may mean moving toothbrushes to a place closer to the kitchen and yes, buying a second set of them, but it is worth it!   The goal is to not have them return to their rooms or upstairs once they come to the kitchen.  Think about it like this – you are minimizing distractions!  

  5. Always have a timer in the kitchen.  I am a huge fan of the Time Timer.  It shows time elapsing – set it when they begin eating breakfast so they know how much time they have.  When it goes off, that’s when it’s time to leave the table and brush their teeth. If you need to set it again for the teeth brushing, you can do this as well, but I’m not sure how many children and teens are brushing more than 3 minutes!

Once teeth are brushed, they head to the door, grab their backpack, lunch box and off they go!

With Much GrADDitude (and more peace in the mornings!),

Kelly