Quick Ways to Speed Up the Morning Routine
Getting your family up and at ‘em is no small feat. With the start of the new school year, kids and parents both are getting back into a routine. Follow these quick tips to streamline your family’s morning routine and say goodbye to chaotic weekday mornings.
Catch Enough ZZZs
If you and your children have trouble waking up in the morning, evaluate your family’s sleeping habits to make sure you are all getting enough rest each night. The National Sleep Foundation recommends school-age children ages 6-13 years old get nine to 11 hours of sleep each night, and adults and teenagers get eight to 10 hours. Calculate your kids’ appropriate bedtimes by subtracting the number of recommended hours from the time they need to wake up. Waking up refreshed and ready for the day will make your mornings much more enjoyable.
Move Your Alarm
Are you just not a morning person? Do you continually hit the snooze button until the very last minute each morning and then rush to get ready? A quick fix for this is to place you and your children’s alarm clocks on the other side of the room. When your alarm clock sounds, you will have to get up and turn it off. By the time you’re out of bed, you have a much better chance of staying awake instead of heading back to bed for a few more ZZZs.
Be an Early Riser
As the parent, wake up at least 15-30 minutes before your family to get your day started on the right foot. This gives you a chance to shower, get dressed and enjoy a cup of coffee before your family even wakes up. Then your focus can be solely on getting the kids ready to go.
Prepare the Night Before
Cut out as many steps from your morning routine as you can by preparing the night before. Work with your kids to choose their outfits for the next morning before they head to bed. Make sure their homework and other papers are in their backpacks.
Prepare breakfast the night before. Try overnight oats, freeze fruit for quick smoothies or pre-pour bowls of cereal. You can even preset the table for breakfast at night.
Showering the night before can also save a major chunk of time, and the best part is you won’t have to hear the kids’ fighting over who took all of the hot water or, even worse, be the one stuck without any hot water.
Put Some Pep in Your Step
Make a morning playlist with fun, upbeat music that you and your kids both enjoy. The music will energize you and your family, as well as start the day with positive vibes.
Morning Routine Chart
Create a morning routine chart for your kids. The chart can include tasks like brushing teeth, combing hair, getting dressed and making their beds. If they can complete every task each morning for a week, perhaps they’ll get a special treat.
Get Organized
With so much back-to-school paperwork, it’s easy to get bogged down and unorganized. Spend a weekend tidying up the house and organizing the spaces in your home that you use most in the mornings. For example, organize all of the bathroom products so you and your kids can find them without spending time in the morning trying to track them down.
Another way to organize your home is to create one space as a command center. This space will have door hooks for each child’s coat, backpack, lunch bag and shoes, as well as a space for your car keys, coat, shoes and purse. Ideally, this space is near the door, so when you’re on your way out, you have a visual reminder of what you must take with you.
Regan Lyons is a freelance writer who lives in St. Joseph, MO, with her husband and 4-year-old daughter.