If you’re a mother who works outside the home and has little ones running around, then more than likely you’ve had your share of crazy mornings. It doesn’t matter how organized you were before children, now that you’ve got them it’s almost impossible to stay organized, especially in the mornings. Between getting yourself dressed and ready for work, you’ve got to get the kids breakfast, teeth brushed, backpacks and lunches packed and off to school on time. I don’t think there is a working mother in the world who hasn’t found herself running late a time or two.
While you shouldn’t be put under the disillusion that there’s a way to avoid this scenario completely, it is actually quite possible to make it a very rare occasion. The way to do this is to establish a morning routine for everyone in the family to follow. Below are a few ways for you to get a routine started.
Start the Night Before. Obviously, morning routines are done in the morning, but there is no rule that says everything must be done in the morning. Therefore, make your morning routine a little easier by doing some things the night before. For example, have the kids lay out their clothes the night before so they don’t have to spend extra time in the morning deciding on what to wear. You can also make their lunches the night before, which will give you extra time as well.
Set Your Alarm. The only way to get a morning routine started is to set your alarm for the same time each morning – and get up! When you start your day at the same time every morning, you’ll save yourself a lot of time because you won’t be rushing around as much, especially if you do some of the normal morning chores the night before.
Make a List. In order to establish a morning routine for everyone in the family, you will need to make a to-do list for each individual in your family. This to-do list will have items on it such as: eat breakfast, brush your teeth, get dressed, make sure your homework is in your backpack, get your lunch, etc. List everything out so that your kids can visually see everything they need to do before leaving for school in the morning. It will make your life easier as you won’t have to stop what you’re doing to make sure they’ve gotten everything done.
Leave on Time. To ensure that your morning routine works and everyone is on board, you will have to make it a point to leave on time each morning. Your children aren’t going to take your routine/schedule seriously if you don’t enforce it… the only way to enforce it is to leave on time. If they forget a homework assignment or their lunch, then it will only help them be more responsible in the future. So, don’t be afraid to set a time to leave by and to actually leave at that time.
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