{"id":2508,"date":"2023-09-06T06:00:37","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T13:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/?p=2508"},"modified":"2023-08-23T12:13:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T19:13:01","slug":"making-mornings-easier-get-the-kids-to-help-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/making-mornings-easier-get-the-kids-to-help-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Mornings Easier? Get the Kids to Help!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Crazy school day mornings? These can be one of the hardest parts of being a parent.<\/p>\n

Recently, there was some talk on Twitter about this issue. One mom mentioned she was tired of reading articles, posts, and tweets about how if a parent (usually a mom) was just a bit more organized then their mornings would go more smoothly! As if somehow moms just aren\u2019t doing this 24\/7 job as well as we could.<\/p>\n

Mornings are messy, often stressful, and \u2026 they just keep happening. I\u2019m definitely not here to say they\u2019d be better if you were more organized. In fact \u2013 my ideas aren\u2019t about\u00a0you doing more \u2013 they\u2019re about your\u00a0kids doing more!<\/p>\n

Morning routines will be easier when kids help!<\/h2>\n

Having kids do chores has all kinds of benefits \u2013 for your family and for them. Making sure they share responsibility for how mornings run is a brilliant parenting hack. Here are a few ideas:<\/p>\n

Have kids make their own lunches<\/strong>.<\/h3>\n

Really \u2013 let them do this for you! After making lunches every day for 3 kids for years,\u00a0I learned\u00a0<\/a>the hard way how much sense this hack makes. Changing my strategy and turning this one over to the kids was a game changer!<\/p>\n

Let kids dress themselves<\/strong>.<\/h3>\n

Obvious maybe \u2013 but I think it needs to be said. Let them be in charge of their own style. And let them be responsible for getting those duds on every morning. Maybe ask them to lay out clothes the night before if they need time to plan. Give them a time update in the morning \u201cIt\u2019s 7 and we need to leave for school<\/a> in 30 minutes \u2013 start dressing!\u201d \u201cYou need to have your clothes and shoes on and be in the car in 10 minutes!”<\/p>\n

Kids not ready to leave for school? Just go anyway<\/strong>.<\/h3>\n

Speaking of shoes \u2026 I\u2019m famous for having plopped kids, who did not get ready on time, into the car barefoot and headed off to school with their shoes in a bag. In preschool and kindergarten, I warned the teacher that I might be delivering a pouting, shoeless child to them. It usually only takes one or two go \u2018rounds for the child to learn to be ready. This approach falls under the category of \u201cnatural consequences.<\/a>”<\/p>\n

Start preparing for school mornings early.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I like to sleep in as much as anyone, but I have learned the hard way that starting the morning 30 minutes earlier than I think is needed works every time. I\u2019m calmer, the kids are happier and get ready on time. And\u2026<\/p>\n

Make kids use an alarm clock.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Them, not you. A clock, not a phone. The earlier kids understand setting a schedule and the alarm needed to stick to it \u2013 the better. When they\u2019re young, help them learn by setting out the plan: \u201cYou have to be at school by 8. It takes 15 minutes to get there, so what time do we need to be in the car?\u201d By working through this process, it helps them set an alarm to the time needed, and you\u2019ll help your child be your partner in the morning routine.<\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m not saying your mornings will suddenly all be easy. But having your kids be part of the process will help ease the morning routine. Bring on the mornings \u2013 you\u2019ve got this!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mornings are messy, often stressful, and \u2026 they just keep happening. I\u2019m definitely not here to say they\u2019d be better if you were more organized. In fact \u2013 my ideas aren\u2019t about\u00a0you doing more \u2013 they\u2019re about your\u00a0kids doing more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,86],"tags":[147,283,155,153,354,431,353],"class_list":["post-2508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family-life","category-school","tag-allowance","tag-back-to-school","tag-chores","tag-family-chores","tag-making-lunches","tag-morning-routine","tag-morning-routines-for-kids","ages-all-school-ages"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1694194167:6"],"_edit_last":["8"],"slide_template":["default"],"video_format_choose":["youtube"],"_custom_body_class":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["90"],"qode_animate-page-title":["no"],"qode_show-page-title-text":["no"],"qode_show-page-title-image":["no"],"qode_show-sidebar":["default"],"qode_hide-featured-image":["no"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["60"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_ages":["293"],"_thumbnail_id":["4264"],"wpfp_favorites":["10"],"qode_seo_title":["Make morning routine with kids easier"],"qode_seo_keywords":["kids morning routine, making lunches"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":["morning routine"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":["make mornings easier"],"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":["83"],"_yoast_indexnow_last_ping":["1694005762"],"ase_chapter_enable_timeline":["off"],"_wpb_vc_js_status":["false"],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["Mornings can be rough - and they just keep happening! The morning routine will go easier if you put your kids to work!"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":["[]"],"_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":["[\"\"]"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["3"],"_yoast_wpseo_wordproof_timestamp":[""],"ase_map_component_start_point":["a:2:{s:3:\"lat\";d:29.76;s:3:\"lng\";d:-95.38;}"],"ase_mapbox_style":["openstreet"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2508"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4266,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2508\/revisions\/4266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}