Secrets of a Happy Morning Routine For Kids Part 2

Are you wondering how to have an easier morning routine with kids?  I shared some practical parenting tips to get kids out the door and off to school in the morning in an earlier post, Secrets of a Happy Morning Routine For Kids Part 1.  In addition to those strategies, I wanted to share few of my secrets that have made our mornings fun, light, and on time.

My Secrets for a Happy Morning Routine for Kids

1.  Use an Analog Clock with Sticky Notes
Children, especially the younger ones, have a hard time pacing themselves and managing their time because they only live in the present moment.  There is only now, no past or future.  The idea that they need to get ready for school in an hour or less is the furthest from their minds.  Help them to get a sense of time by using an analog clock.  Use sticky notes to mark off when they need to accomplish steps, like 7:15 Wake Up, 7:20 Get Dressed, 7:30 Eat Breakfast, 7:45 Go to the Car.  Use words and pictures to illustrate the steps.  When they lag behind, say “look at the clock.  What does it say?”

2.  Use a Timer
When children are racing the clock, it becomes a game.  When it’s a game it’s more fun.  It’s amazing how quickly kids will move when a ticking timer is going.

3.  Sing
I wake up singing.  My son wakes up singing.  I know where we get it because my mom sings in the morning.  It lightens things up and raises our energy level.  If you are worried that you don’t have a good singing voice, sing anyway.  If you really are feeling insecure about it, then hum.  You will feel happier and more at ease and that happiness will be reflected in your child.

4.  Choose a Theme Song
When we head out the door for school, we have a theme song that we sing.  It’s a modified version of the Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling”.  We took a little creative license and changed some words.  In essence it goes like:  “I gotta feeling that today’s going to be a good day, that today’s going to be a good day, that today’s going to be a good good day.”  How could you not have a good day after that?

5.  Acknowledge Progress
Be sure to be your own best cheerleader and acknowledge progress.  No matter how slight, progress is progress.  Celebrate your wins.  Let your child know that the family is succeeding.  It reinforces your new pattern of being early in your morning routine for kids.

When you follow these tips, you can create a morning routine for kids that you and your whole family will love waking up to.

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