Master Your Family's Morning Routine To Get To School On Time
Aug 13, 2024
The frantic rush out the door to school every morning is stressful for kids and parents alike, but three straightforward changes to your morning routine can get you there on time. I bet you’ve never thought of the last one, so stick with me until the end.
Plan Ahead
First, what parts of the morning routine can you complete the night before? From setting out your outfit for tomorrow and having the kids set out their outfits to packing lunches, the more you get off your plate the night before, the better. Think through your evening routine, and schedule time to knock a few morning tasks off your plate.
The key is to conveniently tie these morning preparation tasks into your existing nighttime routine so the evenings don’t start to feel too busy. Perhaps you transition straight from washing dinner dishes to packing lunches to batch all your kitchen tasks at once. That way, you don’t have to remember to come back later in the evening. Perhaps when the kids put on their pajamas, they lay out their clothes for the morning.
One thing some families like to do is to leave the toiletries necessary for the morning routine out in the bathroom. That way, kids have a quick and easy checklist of activities ready and waiting. Toothbrush and toothpaste mean they need to brush their teeth. A hairbrush means they need to brush their hair. Sunscreen means they need to apply a layer of protection. Each item goes back in their bathroom drawer when completed, so when you walk by the bathroom in the morning and see a clean counter, you know they’ve completed all of their tasks.
Another good option is to set backpacks out by the front door and fill them with everything needed for the school day except a perishable lunch. Water bottles, homework folders, and school projects located the night before keep the morning chaos to a minimum. What morning activities can you shift to your evening routine? Even getting ahead on just two or three items can make a big difference during the morning rush.
Simplify The Routine
Next, consider whether there are any parts of your morning that you can simplify. My favorite tip in this category is scheduling breakfasts. When kids are younger, and parents do most of the breakfast preparation, creating a breakfast schedule can save a tremendous amount of time and add an element of peaceful simplicity to your mornings. Scheduling breakfasts takes the concept of “Taco Tuesday” and applies it to breakfasts. Start by selecting five breakfasts that all your kids will eat. Perhaps Monday is bagels with cream cheese and a side of fruit. Tuesday might be scrambled eggs and avocado with a slice of toast. I did this for years, and it was a lifesaver with four young children.
The beauty of the breakfast schedule is threefold. First, you know exactly what to prepare and don’t have to waste any time brainstorming or taking orders. Second, all kids (and maybe even everyone in the family) eat the same thing, so there’s less hullabaloo in the kitchen and less mess to clean up. Third, when you set the schedule and print it out to place on the fridge (with images for younger kids), they know exactly what to expect, so they get into the routine, and everything starts to run smoothly.
Another great way to simplify the morning routine is to get the kids involved in completing essential tasks. For example, younger kids can help place dirty plates in the dishwasher after breakfast, while older kids can empty the dishwasher before breakfast.
The Dress Rehearsal
This last tip is an easy one to implement that most families never think to do. Have you ever set your alarm the night before the first day of school and wondered if you’ve given yourself enough time to get out the door peacefully? There’s no need to wing it and wonder. Plan ahead with a dress rehearsal of sorts. After you think through steps one and two of moving some activities to the night before and simplifying the morning routine, decide on a family outing that begins at the same time as school. It doesn’t have to be a big event; it can be a trip to the park or a playdate but plan to make it a substantial enough outing to justify packing a lunch. That way, you can practice as much of the school preparation steps as possible.
Really go the extra mile of pretending it is a school day. Get the kids in on the plan by telling them you want relaxed mornings to prepare them for school peacefully this school year, so you’ll do a trial run. This type of practice is what we psychologists call behavioral rehearsal. In this case, we’re focused on nailing down the timing of the morning routine. Still, behavioral rehearsal is a beneficial skill that can be applied to many aspects of your parenting to decrease any worry over upcoming events and improve children’s behavior.
Start practicing the night before with any activities you’ve moved to the evening routine, like picking out clothes or setting out toiletries for the morning. Check in with your kids to ensure that the outfit they selected is one they would want to wear to school. Similarly, in the morning, make sure they spend the same amount of time getting ready as they will on an actual school day when some kids like to dress to impress. Then, try out the new breakfast schedule.
Set your alarm clock to your best estimate based on how much time you need to get everyone ready and out the door in the morning, but rest assured, it’s okay to be a little late to the park or a playdate. If you find you need an extra 15 minutes, set the alarm 15 minutes earlier on the first day of school. I always like to add a 10-15 minute buffer to that in case of whatever wild thing your kids throw at you and so you don’t have to worry when you see road work signs.
Take-Home Message
Getting out of the house with kids, no matter how many you have, is no small feat. The pressure to arrive somewhere like school on time in the morning can make for a whirlwind event. However, with a few simple tricks, from planning ahead the night before and minimizing your morning routine to nailing down exactly how much time you need each morning to get ready without the rush, your little troupe will be arriving on time each day. Keep up the good work on your amazing parenting journey!
