Oh Those Morning Blues

Mornings are perhaps the most chaotic time of the day for a family. There is an ever present clock that drives those hours. Each member has his or her own list of responsibilities to get done before they can start their own day. For those that are going to school and work it is a mix of dressing themselves, eating breakfast, and making sure that all the materials needed for their day are packed and ready to go. If you have several bodies to raise from slumber and dress before they sleepily work through a bowl of cheerios it can be even more difficult. All of this and making the bus too!

Some days you get everything done and the kids have 10 minutes to wait at the bus stop. Other days you watch them race down the driveway as the bus pulls up. Each and every morning it’s a yell of, “Mom I can’t find my shoes. Dad, did you see where I put my English paper? I swear I printed it out.” Maybe it’s one of those mornings when your daughter is trying to print something out and as is the custom, the printer just isn’t cooperating. There are certainly times maybe a few of you can relate to when just getting them dressed is an accomplishment. Those days they seem to fight you on everything! But is there a way to lessen this stress? Yes, and we can show you how.

What we will show you will benefit the entire family and does not impact only the parents. In fact with our strategy we begin to put the focus where it belongs and that is with the child. Age and development appropriate responsibility is the theme. Some children are more organized than others. However, children can begin to learn organization at a young age. We will show you how following the same morning routine, every morning, will decrease the chaos you now feel. And it’s not just preparing for school/work that morning. You begin preparing for the next morning as soon as they get off the bus the previous afternoon. It doesn’t mean more use of the television or any use of the television if you prefer. It doesn’t mean getting them up three hours before the bus comes.

Our goal is to streamline your mornings by presenting you with a structure that you can use for all ages, from 2-18. The basic tenets are choice and responsibility. We honor that your children want to make their own choices. Ask a two year old if they want to wear a shirt you give him and you may just get the same result as if you asked your 17 year old son the same question. They all want to feel they have a stake in what will happen. These are a few of the questions that we can help you answer.

I like having the television on in the morning. The kids like it and they remain quiet which is all I want. As long as they’re quiet it’s a good thing right?

If I change the schedule of events every morning but we have the same events, it’s pretty much the same routine no?

I feel like I do everything for our “Sasha.” Our older daughter has the rest of the year planned out but I can’t get Sasha to remember her lunch. Is there anything you can recommend?