Morning routine

[mdteacher818]

If you have school-aged kids, what is your morning routine? Now that DS has to be at school by 8, we are rushing every morning. I feel like every day is chaos, with me repeating the same directions over and over and over. It ends with me yelling and starting the day frustrated. Something has to give!!

[turtlegirl]

I get as much as i can ready the night before - snacks/lunch, any paperwork that needs to go back to school, etc.

We do a really easy breakfast (PB toast, yogurt, fruit) and luckily DS1 can dress himself, i just tell him what is weather appropriate to wear (shorts or pants, etc) and he picks everything out and puts it on. I don't care if he matches, lol. Most days he looks fine. I help DS2 get dressed if it's a preschool day for him.

The it's a quick brush teeth, get shoes on and out the door. DS1 really never wants to be late, so if I tell him he needs to get ready quicker so we aren't late it usually is a big motivator for him.

[holly116]

DD gets on the bus at 6:30. We get her up at 6 and keep to a short routine. Clothes are ready from the night before, she goes to the bathroom, washes her face/brushes her teeth and immediately gets dressed. As soon as we're downstairs, she gets her shoes on and sits down for a bowl of cereal. I do her hair while she's eating. If she's packing, her lunch is ready from the night before in the fridge. Her backpack is on a hook next to the door, ready to go with her folder/library book/snack etc along with her jacket.

We haven't had any issues so I think the key is do as much as possible the night before

[jeaniebueller]

DS wakes up at 6:30. I pack his lunch and lay out his clothes. He gets dressed, plays a little bit and eats breakfast. We leave the house by 7:05. I get his backpack ready the night before.

And the routine always involves me telling him a million times to get his shoes on and coat on.

[orval]

My ds gets up at 6 and we leave by 7 to get to school. He comes downstairs, eats breakfast, watches a few minutes of tv. He backs his book bag the night before. I make lunch while he eats breakfast. At 10 to 7 he goes upstairs and gets dressed. I iron clothes the night before so those are ready to go.

Does he get up early enough to leave enough time?

[CloudBee]

DS is only 2.5, but I totally agree on having as much done the night before as possible. Mon-Thurs DS is with a friend, and I pack his backpack / lay out his clothes before he goes to bed at night. I even put his backpack by the front door so we're not having to backtrack as we're about to leave. (Historically we found ourselves going "oh no, go back to his bedroom to get his bag!" and it was annoying.)

[hocus2]

We also have to be at school by 8.

I make lunch the night before. We layout clothing the night before. We pack her bag and have it by the door as well.

I wake up at 7 and immediately get my kid up. She goes to the bathroom, brushes her teeth and gets dressed as much as she can without me. Once I'm dressed I help her as needed and brush her hair. We have a quick breakfast (cereal, eggo, granola etc), throw her lunch in her bag and we're usually out the door around 7:35. We walk most days and if we have a late morning I drive since it only takes 8 mins to drive vs. 20 mins to walk.

I don't shower in the am. If I need to do that because I need go into the office then I wake up at 6:30. If I have to get both kids ready I get up earlier as well get myself ready. Then while my daughter is dressing I get my son ready.

[KKD]

Our elementary school doesn't start until 9:00, so our mornings aren't usually rushed unless DD2 sleeps late.

6:45am DD1 wakes up and reads in her room
7:00am DD1 is allowed downstairs to watch TV or iPad
7:30am DD2 wakes up so I do too; she goes downstairs, and H makes both girls breakfast
8:00am Girls come upstairs to get dressed and brush teeth and hair
8:15am I wake up DS if he has preschool to get him dressed and fed; otherwise he often sleeps through the bus or wakes up just before we leave and stays in his pjs
8:30am I pack lunches and fill water bottles; girls get their shoes, jackets and bags
8:40am We leave for the bus stop (or walk to school if we're able)
8:48am Bus arrives (we're the last stop)

We keep breakfast easy; most days they have frozen French toast sticks and applesauce, or leftover waffles or pancakes if we made them over the weekend.

Otherwise I try to do as much as possible the night beforehand. I have them pack their snacks for the next day when they get home from school, right after they unpack their school bags. I get their lunches ready after they're in bed so all I have to do is throw it in their lunch bags in the morning. We also pick out clothes the night beforehand and check their specials so they're prepared if they're supposed to wear sneakers for gym. I also check the weather (especially this time of year) so we know what kind of jacket to wear for the morning. We keep their bags, jackets, and shoes by the back door so we can grab them just before we leave.

[savan]

I get up ridiculously early, 5:45. That seems to be the only way to not be rushed in the morning. I get up, pack lunches, set out stuff for cereal, and drink my coffee. These days the kids have been sleeping until as late as possible, 7:00, so at 6:30 I make eggs and pancakes to have waiting for them. All they have to do is get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush their teeth and we are out the door at 7:30. Backpacks are packed the day before.

[somersault72]

I always lay out his clothes, ask if he's buying or packing, and make sure homework etc is in his backpack the night before. I lay my clothes out as well and try to pack as much of my lunch as I can. I get DS up at 6:30, he gets dressed. While he's getting dressed I pack his lunch if he's packing. He comes downstairs one of us feeds the cats, he grabs a snack to take with him and we're out the door around 6:45. He eats breakfast at before school care.

[chedifuen]

They have four things they need to get done in the morning, eat, brush teeth, get dressed and fix their hair. If they can get it all done then they are allowed a few minutes to play on their iPads before we leave for the bus. I find that it's a great motivator.

In the evenings, they pick out their next day outfits, get out their backpacks, fill their water bottles and put them in the fridge and we talk about what sounds good for breakfast. I find they are much more likely to gobble up their food if they had input into what I fixed.

I get up about 30 minutes before them to fix breakfast and pack lunches.

[mdteacher818]

Thank you all! I think the missing link is that I'm trying to get ready at the same time so I can't monitor as closely! DS is definitely up early enough, and he watches TV or plays on the iPad until it's time to get ready. I think I just need to make that happen sooner. It's a hard transition for him from relaxing to getting ready. I don't want him to get dressed to early though, especially not before he eats because he has to wear a uniform.

[bunch]

My kids get up around 7, eat breakfast (I usually shower then) and then scramble to get dressed. TV is our dangling carrot and dd1 will usually dress at lightening speed to be able to watch a show before school. This gives me time to make lunches before we run out the door.

[anna7602]

I delegate mornings to DH. I'm "busy" with the baby. Somehow, he gets up himself, wakes her up, packs her lunch for school, makes her breakfast and gets her out the door dressed and with her teeth brushed in less than 45 minutes. The only thing I do is brush her hair into tight braids every day while she eats breakfast and make sure that her homework is put away the night before.

Part of it is that she fears DH more than she fears me, but part of it is also that he wakes her up with just enough time. She seems to screw around less the less time she has in the morning.

Eta: just looked at some of the above responses. There is no TV or iPad time in the morning. We would never be able to tear her away. also, it helps that she is the person who has to be somewhere earliest of all of us. DH comes back and gets ready for work after dropping her off most days and I don't start working until well after she's out of the house, either.

[Marmee]

We do not allow any tv or electronics, my kids wear uniforms & pack their own lunches (even the 6yr old). Homework is already packed & ready in backpack. Here is a picture of our routine that is written on the breakfast nook wall. There is an after school one too. They can all read & follow.

[Marmee]

Oh & I am getting dressed & getting our 2yr old dressed between 6:30-7:00am too....but I'm low maintenance SAHM so my getting ready is quick shower, brush hair & yoga pants. DH showers before the kids get up & he's usually downstairs supervising breakfast/lunch packing/making coffee.

[darnkatz]

DD2 (age 2) and I are usually up by 6AM - I get DD1's (age 7) snack, water bottle, and lunchbox if she is taking lunch ready to go. DD2 insists on getting dressed immediately. I wake up DD1 at 6:45 if she isn't already up. She gets dressed (I set out clothes the night before) and comes out for breakfast. Once she finishes eating, we brush her teeth, she goes to the bathroom, and then she reads if there is any time left. We are out the door by 7:35 to walk to school. Sometimes there is yelling, but it usually goes pretty smoothly.


We don't do TV before school. I've noticed that it kills her will to listen and concentrate. She knows that if she doesn't keep herself together in the morning that she will lose out on fun things after school. This year is a lot better than last year. She is in second grade now and is just better at getting out of the house. She even gets out DD2's shoes, jacket and hat while she is getting out her own things. It also helps that I let her run up and down the hill by her school as many times as she wants if we make it out the door early. That is a big motivator for her.

[dizzycooks]

I get up at 5:30 and get dressed, do my hair/makeup and then start breakfast. Technically dh is in charge of getting the girls ready, but dd1 dresses herself before she comes downstairs and she puts their lunches in their backpacks while I finish making breakfast. This is usually around 5:50. She'll help me make coffee and feed the dog if I'm not done yet. I do their hair while they eat. DH usually has the little one in her chair by 6:10 and they leave for daycare by 6:25 or 6:30. Breakfast is quick, but ranges between oatmeal, eggs, pancakes and toast. If there is screen time it's only the morning news for me and dh while we pick up breakfast, but usually I leave it off because dd1 likes to watch too much and forgets to eat. Backpacks are packed the night before and jackets are all on hooks by the door. Clothes are also picked the night before so there really aren't many decisions to make in the morning.