5 Morning Tricks to Get the Kids Ready for School Faster
By: Kaylin Meyer
Have you noticed your mornings becoming a frenzied struggle? Or maybe it’s not so much the frenzied part, as it is a time-consuming battle of attrition to actually leave the house because someone left their backpack in their room, or you left the diaper bag sitting on the counter. Is it taking forever to get the family up, ready, fed, and out the door for school in the morning?
With a new school year upon us, it’s the perfect time to set the morning standard and start effectively streamlining our routines in the most time conscious way possible.
To streamline the morning flow with your fam, here are our 5 effortless and utterly seamless morning solutions!
1) No Electronics. Period.
Is it really necessary to have the TV on? No. We can catch up on the news later and the kids certainly don’t need to be watching anything in the morning before school. Not only TV, but playing with any gadgets, or even an iPad or phone should also be eliminated altogether. There is no reason they need to play on these devices in the early moments of their day. Plus, removing devices can make morning time an utterly positive family-time experience. To achieve that, all you need is each other!
2) Pack Up the Backpack.
If you put in a little time the night before, you and your family will undoubtedly be able to enjoy a more laid-back morning! When it comes to getting everyone ready, pay attention to the little things that can quickly add or subtract minutes. For example, have you had to turn the car around because someone forgot their backpack at home? Try making a new rule that after homework is finished or before bedtime, the kiddos have to pack and hang their backpacks up in a specified area, preferably near the door.
Putting in some prep time the night before will allow for more leisure time in the morning.
3) Lunch Time Prep.
More organization can drastically reduce your morning’s stress levels. Like the backpack example, make sure everybody has their stuff ready to go. Decide what’s for lunch tomorrow and make their sandwiches, apples and whatever other healthy snacks ahead of time. If you’re finishing up putting things away from the night’s dinner, it’s a perfect opportunity to pack those delicious leftovers for their lunches tomorrow. That way, everyone isn’t running around in the morning like a headless chicken. Can’t say it enough: plan, plan, plan. The more you get all your ducks in a row the night before, the more minutes you’ll have in the morning. Heck, everyone might even get to hit the snooze button one more time.
4) End the What-to-Wear Woes
Pick out outfits for the kids the night before and lay everything out in the order it goes on. If they are old enough to dress themselves and like to pick out their own clothes, make it a fun nightly activity. Help them pick and set out their outfits so it’s ready-to-wear in the morning! If something needs to be ironed, you’ll be thanking yourself you didn’t save it to be done in the morning.
5) Have Fun!
Taking care of little details is the key to an efficient morning routine. My last tip for an easygoing (dare we say blissful?) morning with your loved ones is to have a little fun! Start having weekly contests to encourage some friendly competition. One idea: whoever makes it to the breakfast dressed and ready to go first gets to choose the music in the car on the way to school. Or the first person buckled in the car gets to decide what movie you’ll enjoy together on Friday night.
It’s the small things that contribute to a healthy, happy home. Good luck adjusting to your new school year routine, and with some planning the night before, you’ll actually enjoy the morning hustle.
Just a little bit planning will go a long way to making your morning — and your whole day — more enjoyable.