Tips to help the morning go smoother

ccm1203

Mornings have been a bit frustrating (school just started a little over a week ago), DS doesn't seem to want to get into getting ready/eating breakfast, until 7:30 when I start getting upset (we need to get out of the house by 8:05 to catch the bus). This is actually no earlier than we had to get out of the house for the past 2 years.

 

I usually make lunch the day before.   I let him choose what to eat for breakfast (within reason).

 

Thanks!

littlemermaid

What time is he going to bed and what time does he get up in the morning?

DandelionMom

Things to try:

earlier bedtime

earlier wake up time

no tv/books/toys until child is completely ready for school (including shoes, jacket, backpack)

pick out clothes the night before

pick out breakfast choice the night before

stick with easy to eat breakfasts (cereal bar, cut fruit, etc)

play up beat music in the morning

make a "getting ready chart" so he can track his progress and see what he still has to do to get ready

ccm1203

littlemermaid:

What time is he going to bed and what time does he get up in the morning?

  Lights are off at 8pm, getting up anywhere from 6:40 to 7:15am

neverblushed

When I went through this with my DD, I made a printed schedule for her to follow, that showed the time window for certain things.  Here was our schedule:

7:00 to 7:15 -- DD's alarm goes off and she gets up, dressed, pees, and brushes teeth.

7:15 to 7:45 -- eat breakfast and watch a little TV

7:45 to 7:55 -- get shoes on, backpack, coat, and lunch ready.

7:55 -- out the door to the bus stop.

Having a schedule with known time windows for each part of the "getting ready" process helped her.  Also, I made her do all the bathroom stuff first, before breakfast, so she didn't have to keep running back to the bedroom/bathroom all morning.  Once she came into the kitchen/LR area, she was done with the bedroom and bathroom for the morning.

sweetsurrender9

Try:

Alarm clock set for DS for 20 minutes before he HAS to be up.  (I know that my SS is a slow waker, so we actually set his for 30 minutes before he has to be awake.)

Allow him to pick his breakfast foods.  If he's excited about breakfast, he might get up earlier because he's happy to eat it.

Clothes out the night before.  Less work to match and all of that good stuff.

Neverblushed's schedule is awesome.  It'd be even better with a digital watch, so DS can check his progress with his own watch, so he's not looking for a clock and wasting time that way.

 Also, pack the bookbag and double check it the night before.  Then DS isn't running back to his room to look for things. 

mickey1330

The thing that helped best with DS was getting him an alarm clock.  I got him the one that says funny things and shakes.  Sometimes now he even gets up before the alarm, and tries to beat me getting dressed.  Which is amazing b/c his alarm is set for 6:40. (bus picks him up at 7:09)