How Do You Handle School Mornings?

Updated on November 09, 2012
L.C. asks from Downers Grove, IL
24 answers

Our morning routine consists of a lot of yelling and threatening of my almost 7 year old. I wake him up in plenty of time but he likes to stay in bed or not get dressed until im screaming about being late. Then he doesnt want to eat breakfast or doesnt know what he wants, so many days he doesnt eat before school. Then when we try to leave, its another issue of getting his coat on and shoes and im yelling to hurry up. I have an almost 2 year old and a 4 year old to get ready during this time too. Theres a lot going on and it seems the 7 year old is the main problem. My husband is either gone for work already or getting ready and isnt any help. He tells me there is a better way to handle this but doesnt know what it is. Do you know? I dont want to be the witch everyday, but it seems to be happening. Its exhausting and i hate it. How do you handle this early morning chaos? I take away toys and tv for the day, but that has had little effect. Im not sure what else to do.

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B.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I would put him to bed earlier so that he can get up when it is time.

You may also need to find out why he is so reluctant to go to school. At that age my daughter popped out of bed and couldn't wait to go to school. Now the novelty has worn off a bit but she still gets up with enough time to eat breakfast, get ready, and watch TV before she heads off to school.

The only rushing going on is me trying to make breakfast, pack lunches, and get myself presentable. If something has to give it is making myself look presentable eek! LOL If it was really an issue I would get myself up earlier.

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S.E.

answers from Wichita Falls on

Lets start with the easy part, breakfast. Serve one thing, if it's not what he wants, too bad. He eats or goes hungry. Don't worry about it, at seven he's old enough to take responsibility for that meal.
Second - it's not something I've had to do, I've got early risers but I've heard works. Set his alarm for plenty of time and warn him at 15 min to go. If he doesn't get up, put his school clothes, shoes and coat in a bag, and drop him off at school in his PJ's with the bag. This usually takes only once to make the point.

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B.M.

answers from Chicago on

Hate to scare you, but I have a 10 and 12 year old with the same problem. My solution is bed early...get up early. I usually do not tell them what time it is until it's time to go out the door. My youngest needs to catch the school bus by 6:57 am to be at school by 7:25 am. He gets up by 6am or 10 minutes earlier, which seems to be plenty of time to get ready. Both of my sons were doing this since kindergarten.

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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

I would wake the 7 yr old up first. Then take care of the other kids. I wouldn't yell and scream, but if he doesn't get up, then tell him that you will send him to school as he is - no teeth brushed (stinky breath) and in his pajamas. I told my DD just this AM that if she didn't stop screaming and get dressed (I'd turned off the show she's allowed to watch if she's gotten ready - which she hadn't), she'd go to school just the way she was (well, with shoes on).

Many mornings my mom would chase me out to the bus with a pop tart. I cannot eat at 6AM. I would give him something for breakfast (maybe something portable like dry cereal in a baggie) and what he eats, he eats. Make sure he has a good lunch.

Another thing we did with the older kids was if they made us late, then they owed us that many minutes that night. If he makes you really late, then he might be going to bed before the 4 yr old. You take my time? You owe me time. That got SD's attention, as she hated her bedtime as it was. If you don't think 10 minutes will make an impression, double whatever he cost you.

You can also do things at night - pack lunch, get clothes, etc. and when you wake him tell him he has x minutes to do y. Set a timer. Then x minutes to do something else. Timer. Any time he does it, praise. Anytime he does not, predictable consequence.

You can also evaluate his mornings overall. If he's too tired to get up, then maybe he needs an earlier bedtime. We told SD that if she didn't like her bedtime, she needed to be ready ON TIME for one week. Then she earned half an hour. She quickly moved from 8 to 8:30 but the next jumps to 9 and 9:30 took her a looong time. She was in control of it, though, and even if she didn't like it, she knew what she needed to do. There was no fight. It was simply, "You were late on Tuesday so the clock reset. Do better next week and you'll earn your reward."

If you think it's a bid for attention in a busy home, try to give him some extra one on one. Ask DH to watch the younger kids while you read to your 7 yr old. DH can also help get the prep work done at night to give you an easier morning. Depending on his schedule, he can be the first one to wake your son if the kid needs a loooong lead time to get up. You should not be the only one to bear the burden of getting the kids ready if for some portion of the AM DH is still there. Figure out what he can do to make things easier and ask him to do it.

6 moms found this helpful

L.A.

answers from Austin on

We used to talk about breakfasts and lunches for the week, the weekend before the school week. This way we are on the same page with what she would eat for the week.

Our daughter has NEVER been a morning eater.. Even in college she says many times she was just not able to handle food until after 10:00am.

She could take a few sips of a smoothie. Dry toast. Sometimes, "non breakfast" type foods worked best for her. leftovers. A tortilla with cheese.. small cup of soup.

The getting dressed part, many moms will suggest you let your child sleep in his school clothes, even your younger children.. . for our daughter we just made sure to lay out her clothing the night before. I only purchase plain white socks, so we did not go through the "where is my other sock" in the mornings.

I also always woke her up 15 minutes earlier than necessary, so that if she needed "5 more minutes" it was there. She had an alarm, but i made sure she was on her way to getting out of bed, 5 minutes after the alarm went off.

If she went through a few mornings of having trouble getting up, i made sure she went to bed earlier the night before. This did not happen very often, since we did not have a strict bedtime. She learned on her own how much sleep she needed.

Also our daughter knew that she would go "as she was" to school, if she was not ready. i did not stand for being late to school. If she had to put her socks and shoes on while in the car.. that was her problem. If she could not find her favorite shirt.. not my problem. No whining either.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

I have a 6 (boy) and 10 year old (girl).
When my son was younger, he was a bit like your son when waking up.
BUT I have found that... if my daughter wakes him up, he is more pleasant about it. But if I wake him up, he is pretty grumpy.
So, that is what works for us. And my daughter really likes waking up her brother.
Also, when I was a kid, I hated when my Mom woke me up. It was the tone of her voice and her irritating way of doing it. She is a morning person and was just so darn loud and overly perky in the mornings... it drove me nuts.

Then, for me and my family... I ALWAYS, have extra time in the morning for all of us to get ready, because I don't do things down to the wire. So we're never late. I always pad our timing and schedule in the morning, with about 15 minutes extra than it really has to be. So by the time we actually have to get in the van and leave the house... we are on time. Even getting the kids in the van, I will tell them to do so, with about 5 minutes ahead of time. And it just lessens the chaos of the morning.
Because then we are all not rushing.

For breakfast, my kids are not breakfast types. BUT... so I feed them things that are quick and can be eaten easily and that they will eat. ie: yogurt, banana, string cheese, boiled egg, french toast sandwich etc. Which I have prepared the night, before. So in the morning, it does not take long at all, for the kids to get fed.

I also keep in our vehicle: back up jackets, shoes, etc. And it comes in real handy.

We don't really have morning chaos for the most part.
But we have the same routine, every morning.
And again, I always.... pad the morning routines with extra time. Even in waking up the kids, I don't wait until the last minute to do so. I do it, about 10-15 minutes ahead. From the get go. Then the rest of the morning is not rushing and last minute and us all getting ready in a hectic manner.

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J.W.

answers from Lexington on

1- Everything is ready the night before - clothes laid out, lunches packed and in the fridge, and backpacks ready to go. The children and I took turns getting lunches ready the night before starting at age 5 (5-7 with help, but 8 on could do it themselves, or paired with another child). We had a big list on the fridge with lunch ideas that got added to over the years so they chose such variety. We were getting 6 lunch boxes ready each night for a while and stored them all in the extra fridge downstairs we would grab in the mornings.

2- For the child who was a bear to get out of bed, and nasty when we woke her up sweetly -- we switched to alarms - 2 different alarms, far from the bed. A friend even got her hard-to-get-up daughter one of those alarms for the hearing-imapired that shook the bed and made lights go off and on.

3- A sleep disorder may be causing your son to have difficulty in the morning. GOOD sleep is critical.

4- Is everything going well at school, or is there a psychological/emotional avoidance issue going on?

5 - When it is time to go, it is time to go. PERIOD. Even if the child is still in pajamas. We give notice of the time left (10 minutes till we leave... 5 minutes...) non-negotiable.
HOWEVER... to be honest, we only used this technique/threat with the one child who "dawdled" for no real reason, and it worked wonderfully because she was fully capable of getting herself ready. I did not have to deal with lateness due to a child with a brain/mood disorder until later, and then I just would go wait out in the car so my own anxiety about the time would not affect them. I had to just be patient, and we would get there when we got there. If I had yelled, been disapproving, showed my distress at all, it would have just resulted in a meltdown.

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M.P.

answers from Minneapolis on

I have 3 kids and my oldest is 5, she just started K. Before it was preschool that started around 8:30am. We never ever had a single problem with her waking up. She loved school.
Now she is going to K, and she has to get up at 7 am. That has been torture from day one. She refuses to get out of bed, for 2 weeks she would crawl under her bed or go in her closet. She cried, screamed. She would not eat. We had to force her (she is very thin and dainty so we know she needs some sort of calories, cause she rarely eats any lunch no matter if its her favorite or not). She mopes around like a zombie. The first 2 weeks I was coddling and kind, and trying to be sweet. Then by week three I was screaming, prodding and crying to get her to do things. Then we tried tough love things. Like taking away favorite items, time outs. NOTHING WORKED. We ever tried to get her up early, put her to bed really early. nada
We finally realized with the help of the teacher, she was scared of waiting to get in to school. It gave her a ton of anxiety. When we dropped her off she would have to wait in the foyer of school, for the bell to ring. We also relaxed more in the morning. We would make it a fun wake up time. We had a flashlight that made characters on the wall, and we sang songs to wake her up. We would get her dressed and then let her have 5 minutes to lay back in bed, she eventually would wake up with the busyness of getting the morning going. If she came out on her own, she was much easier to deal with. We compromised with the breakfast and made it simpler. Instead of my 5 course meal plan, she could eat a yogurt, some cheese and an apple. If she wasnt forced or rushed she would eat it all with no problem. The MOMENT anyone would start to yell for any reason at her. She froze up, started to become belligerent and hard to handle. I had to learn to go to the garage get my frustration out in some way, and come back. It took a good month now with this new way. Shes finally now starting to be good about it. I am enjoying it more, my husband is calmer (like yours he does nothing to get the kids ready, his only job is to get them to school on time.) The other 2 kids dont feel left out anymore, and everything is simmering down.
You need to change it up a couple times. Note what works and tweak it to the schedule. The screaming is not helping at all, as I found out it makes it worse. Coddling is not the answer either, it has to be somewhere in between, that will take a lot of trial and error. Try to see if its something at school or the morning routine that is bothering him more than usual. Ridding him of that anxiety might help everything else.

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A.R.

answers from Dallas on

Great answers before me, couple more practical tips.

Put him to bed in his clothes for the next day so he is ready to go literally the moment he steps out of bed.
Sit down with him and write a list of things he likes for breakfast. Make sure some of those are always among his choices. My son has to be up and out the door in 20 minutes to catch his bus. He does lots of protein smoothies in the morning because he can drink it while getting ready.
Find his currency. For my dawdling daughter it's her hair. So she is not allowed to 'do' her hair till everythinng else is ready to go. She is terrified of going to school with bed head so it usually works well.
No tv during the week, period. We took tv away during the week when my kids started elementary school, never regretted it. They sleep better and we don't have the morning fights over it.
Don't nag. Tell him 1 time to get dressed and set a timer. When the timer goes off it's breakfast time, dressed or not. When breakfast is done it's brush teeth/comb hair/get backpack together. If after all that there is time to get dressed great - otherwise he goes to school in his pjs. I guarantee it will only happen once if it happens at all.

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J.T.

answers from Dallas on

Sit down with him TONIGHT and lay down the law VERY clearly and VERY specifically. Sit down beforehand and write out a schedule of how the morning is gonna go... Explain that ANY attitude or deviation from the schedule will result in a bedtime 30 min earlier that night, if the problem occurs the next morning, back it up another 30 minutes, if he bucks hard enough to end up on bed at 4pm after a fee days, he 'll catch on..

Don't yell or scream, calmly scoop his rear end up.when its time to go and take him as is :)

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J.S.

answers from Hartford on

Shouting doesn't work. It increases everyone's anxiety and has the opposite effect, right? I'll bet the shouting doesn't make him move more quickly, but it stops him in his tracks. The brain sort of shuts down and can't function because of the anxiety.

Okay, so first thing is to organize as so many others have outlined. Getting as much packed up and placed near the door ready to go before bed time as possible will be a lifesaver. Make it part of the after-homework routine. Oh, you're finished with homework? Great! Pack it back up and put your backpack at the front door for tomorrow.

You also have to budget the time, but you have to add in an extra 15-20 minutes in case there's a snag.

Create and establish a routine. Do everything in order, in a row, so that your son can count on what's next and also once he starts the routine he can get committed to it even if he doesn't feel like getting ready. Sort of like "once you start, you can't really stop." Make the morning routine become a habit. This is really the biggest and most important tip.

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J.C.

answers from Columbus on

Great suggestions so far.

I let my kids do whatever they want. ... IF they are completely ready for school. Breakfast, teeth, clothes, hair, shoes, backpacks. If these are all ready to go, they can do whatever kind of "screens" they want. T.V., DS, Video games, computer, anything. And the time playing usually lasts about five minutes. But it's a strong, strong pull for my kids to get everything done in time. It makes for much less stress.

I like the idea to have your son pick out what he wants to eat for breakfast the night before.

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L.R.

answers from Washington DC on

Get your son to bed earlier if you can; he may need more sleep in order to wake up better.

Have everyone's clothes ready to put on. Do not be getting things out of drawers as they get up. Have every single thing ready the night before, including underwear, socks and shoes. Make them dress as soon as they are standing up -- no pajamas at breakfast. It really slows things down to eat first.

He must, must eat! Do not give him or his siblings choices about breakfast. You mention he sometimes misses eating "because he does not know what he wants." That means you give him choices. Don't. Monday is waffles, Tuesday is cereal, and so on. Have breakfast ready from the night before so you only have to microwave the waffles; or have the bowls out on the counter with spoons in them and the cereal box next to them, ready to pour. It speeds things up a lot to do this. He needs breakfast -- kids who do not eat it do not do as well in school as those who do eat it!!

Ensure that he is physically out of bed after wake-up. Don't go to wake him and then leave his room to tend the others, and have to come back. Use an alarm clock that he cannot shut off so it just goes continuously and staying in bed is not pleasant.

Make a schedule: Get him started earlier if you must. Time out dressing, eating, brushing teeth, shoes, etc. Do things in the same order every day. Set timers -- five minutes to dress (because his clothes are right there and ready, down to socks and underwear); 15 minutes to eat; 5 minutes to brush; and so on.

Keep ALL the kids on the same schedule. You have to help the youngest but they all need to be doing this as a group.

Try hard not to yell but be very firm and matter-of-fact. Do not let him make excuses. Ignore whining as if you cannot hear it.

Get husband involved. He should get up a little earlier to be ready himself and then help you move the kids up and out for the day. By saying there's a better way but he doesn't know what it is --- how unhelpful! He's a dad of three and needs to participate in this routine. He MUST buy into the schedule and must help you with it whenever he can, preferably daily unless his departure really must be very early.

I would call a family meeting (maybe not with the youngest) and explain in kid terms that this new schedule is starting on a specific day, that their clothes will be in this specific spot (do the same things for yourself so they see that you mean it for ALL of you), that they cannot leave without breakfast, etc.

Keep some healthy snack bars and water bottles in the car at all times, just in case the breakfast part of the routine slips. But try to enforce it.

Doing this now will help the younger kids learn to get out the door better before they become like big brother and mornings get worse! Good luck.

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K.S.

answers from Miami on

Let him pick his clothes out the night before. Get him an alarm clock that plays music. Set it to keep going off every 10 min or so. When you get up turn on his light in his room. Tell him he has 15 min to get dressed brush his teeth and hair and get down to breakfast for he wll not have tv that night before bed and will have to go to bed early . Set the timer in the kitchen. If its not done stick with it and no tv and early to bed. He'll fight you the first few nights but he'll get the hint. Dont' yell just say comely sorry 15 min up no tv and early bed tonight and let it go. Then ignore him the rest of the time while he is screaming on the floor get everyone else in the car . If he is not ready pick him up in his pjs and put him in the car . drop him off at school in his pjs and give him his clothes to change in the school. Trust me he wont do that again lol

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❤.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

First of all, I know your pain.
Sometimes when I'm feeling epecially maxed out, I take a deep breath &
turn on the news while I'm getting ready. I hear about all of these tragic
stories & it puts some perspective on my morning madness.

-have everything ready the night before (clothes picked out ((kids & yours))
-have lunches packed (yours, kids' etc)
-set your alarm so you know for a fact you have enough time
-have your son's coat & shoes ready by the door the night before. Ppl will
tell you to let him go w/o his coat. I'm not a fan of that. I'm the mom & it's
my job but I have found a million ways to make MY life easier. And boy
oh boy am I happy about it. I try diff things & find what works for me.
-For the slower child (been there), when you wake him up try taking him out of his room to another warm area where he can immediately get dressed. Have his clothes there. That will get rid of the toy problem.
-For the non-eater (again hv experience w/this), take a breakfast bar w/you in the car, some water, some juice, crackers etc. Not everyone is ready to eat when they wake up.

Work "with" what you have & not against it (don't swim upstream) & your day will start off better.

Preparation is key.

Plan or the unexpected.

Stay one step ahead.

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A.D.

answers from Minneapolis on

I have a stubborn waker-upper, and at times tough to get going in the morning 10 year old. I've been through the yelling and threatening (when she was around 4-6), and all it does is cause her to have an anxiety meltdown, making matters SO much worse! No matter what, I have to keep my demeanor easy going if she is starting to make bad choices, and let natural consequences rule. I have a few different suggestions based on what works for us.

Give him control of his wake up time. Get him and alarm clock and teach him how to use it. Make it fun. Ask him to think about what time he needs to be up in order to comfortably get ready for school and not be late. Try to steer the conversation towards a reasonable time if you think he is off base. If he is up early and fully ready to walk out the door for school, his reward is a little TV time or Ipad time, or whatever he likes to play with in his free time.

If he is refusing to eat, no TV time or toys before school. And stick a granola bar in his backpack or something. I do make it a point to have favorite cereals, outmeals, frozen waffles, etc on hand, things I know my girls like and can prepare themselves. I offer to make eggs if they will eat them. Sometimes I make muffins.

One thing my 10 year old loves to do is take a shower in the morning. Your son may be a little young to shower on his own, but she is a groggy, cranky mess coming out bed, and after her shower, she is a new kid! She hates being cold after getting out of bed, and getting a hot shower really helps.

Unless it's dangerously cold, I wouldn't force the coat on either. Stuff it in his backpack if he won't put it on, or even let him go without it. He will learn it isn't very comfortable, or the adults at school will get after him he needs to be dressed properly to go out for recess. I think the most important thing is to remain calm,with just a gentle reminder "it's 8:30, the time we need to be leaving to be at school on time" and if he dawdles, let him be tardy. Don't even say anything about it if his dawdling causes you to leave late. Pretend nothing is wrong, be cheerful. I learned that a lot of times, you aren't really going to be late if you leave 3-5 minutes past your target time, and it's not worth pressuring him about it. If you truly do become late, he will have to tell the adults in school why he was late HONESTLY. I know my DD would be mortified if I had to tell the school adults she was late due to her own poor time management this morning. She's often yelling about not wanting to go to school (over some minor issue). Probably trying to engage me in an argument, or get her way about something I've said no to. I just ignore any "I don't want to go to school, or I'm not going to school" remarks. Happens all the time. She always goes anyway.

If he has a bad morning, discuss it calmly after school. I talk to my DD with empathy for her stress, and what she can do differently to have a better morning next time. Sometimes it is setting the alarm clock earlier. Often times, picking out clothes the night before helps too. Hang in there. There's something to learn from every "bad" morning. I've learned a lot to let go of my own control issues, and let natural consequences rule.

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M.C.

answers from Detroit on

You have gotten some great advice so far. I wanted to add something that works for my little guy who is very grumpy in the morning: I make sure he drinks a Carnation Instant Breakfast every morning. I buy the box of 22 packets at Sam's Club--it's a godsend. He gets all his vitamins, so I don't have to worry about him missing out on nutrients.

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B.A.

answers from Chicago on

He 1 needs about an extra hour of sleep bedtime is moved. 2. New bedtime routine he helps lay out his clothes fot the nexr day, checks weather with you and lines up everything from clean underwear to outerwear he will need including shoes. 3. He chooses his lunch and helps pack it and put it in fridge so it's ready. 4. He sets up his breakfast.
Let him know that when he wakes to his alarm clock on his own that he is to start with getting dressed and put his lunch in his backpack(whatever happens after this he csn still go to a car with string cheese,granola bar and water and head to school. My son won't eat the first hour he is awake but is awful at 1 hr 15 min if he doesn't have food. If there is still a struggle bedtime is earler until you find a place where he wakes slightly before the alarm and is waiting for you. Keep schedules an weekends and holidays as much as possible.

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L.S.

answers from San Diego on

I'm in the same boat. We have started getting our son to bed earlier but the morning routine is still slow. I have come to the conclusion that he's just not a morning person but how do we balance that with getting him to school on time, getting dressed and eating a decent breakfast? I'll be looking for answers from your thread as well. I don't think punishment helps and adds to the stress of the morning routine. There has to be a better way.

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K.W.

answers from Seattle on

Sounds like he needs more sleep. Move bedtime a half-hour earlier. Then follow some of the marvelous other suggestions already given.

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C.B.

answers from San Francisco on

First of all, he's got this down. He knows that he doesn't REALLY have to get out of bed until you start screaming. I would change that immediately!

Tomorrow morning, go in and wake him up and just tell him he has five minutes to get out of bed and walk out. If he's not up in five minutes, go back in, turn on the light, pull the blankets off him and physically get him out of bed.

Then, hopefully you will have laid out his clothes the night before. Give him x amount of time to put his clothes on and get to the table for breakfast. No choices here - you fix it and put it on the table. He either eats or doesn't - his choice. No arguing. If he eats, he has x amount of time. When that time is up, you come take his plate/bowl, whatever and then it's teeth brushing. You give him x amount of time. If he's not done, you take over and get the job done. Next shoes and coat. If he doesn't have his shoes and coat on when you leave, you walk out anyway, Shoes and coats can be put on in the car.

Oh, I forgot to tell you what to do if he isn't dressed on time - then he goes to the car in his pjs or underwear and dresses in the car.

You will need to be on him like a drill sergeant for a couple of days, but as soon as he realizes that this new routine is here to stay, he'll fall in line.

You will need hubby to help with the other two while this is going on. If hubby is not there and you are a SAHM to the other two, then just take them to drop off brother in their pjs. You are going to need to devote your time to the 7 year old for the next few days to a week.

Good luck Sgt. Mommyalways!

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M.C.

answers from Dallas on

My secrets are getting as much done as possible the night before- kids are bathed, clothes are out, backpacks are packed and cereal is beside the bowls and spoons are on the counter. There are Nutrigrain bars in the pantry for backup breakfast to be eaten in the car.

If (and only if) they are ready to go and eating breakfast before time to leave they may watch TV until time to leave. If they cannot get themselves out of bed in time to be ready to go on time, then they must not be getting enough sleep and bedtime will be a half hour earlier tonight.

(on an unrelated note- I lived in Downers Grove and went to El Sierra Elementary in first and second grade. Small world!)

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A.L.

answers from Chicago on

We're going through this transition. I have 2 children, 7 1/2 and 3 1/2.

Have a discussion with your child to let him know what you expect. This way it isn't a surprise. You could even do a chart if that's needed so he can see it.

He's 7. He has responsibilities. My daughter is responsibe for being dressed, bed made, potty and get to the kitchen for breakfast. Her wake up time is one hour before we are out of the house. After breakfast, she brushes hair, teeth, and get her socks and shoes on. Backpack was packed the night before. Right now I'm packing her lunch and snack. We will work on transitioning that to her.

There are zero electronics in the morning. IF she gets up early and she is ready to go (including shoes tied), then there could be electronics. This happens maybe once a week.

Screaming doesn't work. Set the expectations. If the expectations aren't followed, then breakfast is missed, or whatever.

On a day where everything is going really well, I will treat to McDonalds for the Cinnamon rolls that they can eat in the car, I pack drinks. Or maybe we go to Jamba Juice. This is about once a month.

Good luck. Hang in there. Drop the yelling and walk away.

--A.

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D.B.

answers from Chicago on

It's all about time & concequences.

First if he doesn't get up when you call him, he goes to bed a 1/2 hour earlier that night. No exceptions. No discussions. That is after you explain to him what will happen from now on if he doesn't get up when u call him.

I have two girl's, laying out clothes the night before never worked. I pull out three outfits (for my youngest) she can pick from those. This way she is making decisions for herself. They want to feel (as they should) like they have a voice. My older daughter who is 9 has her occasional meltdown in the morning. She knows she has to be downstairs for breakfast by 7:30. No discussion.

I am up at least an hour to an hour and a half before my kids get up. I am showered, dressed, and have had my first cup of coffee before I call them. First call is 7am. They know that they have to get up, go to the bathroom, get dressed and have there hair done before they go down to breakfast. They have from 7:30 -8 to eat. Back upstairs to brush teeth and we are our the door and in the car by 8:15. Do we have our mornings if craziness? Sometimes but not that often. No one wants to go to bed early. I know my kids go to school later than some but if I wasn't up at least an hour before my kids, I would be a complete crazy mom. I don't know how moms stay sane getting up at the same time as their kids. I would get up at 5am everyday if it meant that I could get ready in peace & quiet!

My oldest is not a breakfast eater except on the weekends when shes up at least two hours before we eat! I give her Carnation breakfast Essentials, during the week, for breakfast. I buy the powder kind and mix it with milk. It's a large glass and it has more vitamins than a waffle or eggs. Now that it's colder, I warm up the milk before I mix in the powder. I buy it at Costco because it can be pricy when you buy the smaller boxes. Either way, it's totally worth the price knowing that she is getting a good start in the morning.

My girls are called to get up at the same time but get ready at totally different paces. Doesn't matter, they only have a half hour from the time i call them to the time that they need to be sitting at the breakfast table. Maybe if it's too hectic with your three getting up at the same time, you could stagger the times? A two and four year old need more help but knowing what they are wearing the night before is doable at that age. Whoever takes the longest gets up first and so on. Time really is the key. I can't imagin how stressed you must both be by the time he gets to school. I'm sure that he would want to be less rushed in the morning. Oh and if he has a tv or any electronics such as an iPad, computer, video games....they need to be taken away, at the very least, at bedtime, during the week. No exceptions. He obviously needs more sleep. If he is going to bed at a good time, he must he doing something that's keeping him from getting a good nights rest. At his age, he may still need 10-11 hours each night. Good luck!

Our schedules are not the same on the weekends. Everyone sleeps in. We stay up late at least one night for a movie night.

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