Weathering the Morning Routine
NTI days and summertime have given us a long break without a consistent morning routine. But life will be getting back to normal soon and having a plan for getting up and out the door with a sunny disposition makes the whole day brighter. Take this quiz to see what kind of weather your kids have in the morning and for a few tips about how to improve the forecast.
When the wake up call sounds, what is the response?
A. “Good Morning!” as she bounces out of bed.
B. Silence as she completely ignores the attempt to wake her.
C. “Go away!” as she rolls over to get back to her dream.
What is he going to wear today?
A. It’s already decided and ready to go!
B. He doesn’t care what he wears but he doesn’t feel like picking it out.
C. “I don’t want to wear that. I don’t want to wear that either!”
He finally makes it to the bathroom. How long will he need?
A. 15 minutes tops. He is in and out.
B. 30 minutes. He may have fallen asleep on the bathroom floor.
C. 45 minutes. He doesn’t want to see anyone so he hides out as long as he can.
When he emerges from the bathroom, how does it look?
A. Exactly as it did before he went in, everything put away and wiped up!
B. There might be some toothpaste in the sink, but the tools are put away.
C. The towel is on the floor, the toothpaste is missing the cap, and the lid is up.
How does breakfast go?
A. She sits to eat while talking with the family about the upcoming day.
B. She stands at the counter woofing down something quickly.
C. There is no time for breakfast and so she snaps at her sibling and stuffs a granola bar in her bag.
Did we forget anything?
A. Of course not! The backpack is ready to go and we are on time!
B. One of her shoes is missing, but for the most part we are ready to roll.
C. The yelling really amps up as we scour the house for homework and gym clothes.
Mostly A’s
The Sunshine Kid
You have been blessed with a sunshine kid! They do exist and they are a pleasure to have around! They need about 45 minutes to get ready in the morning, and since they are focused and responsible, the days begin beautifully.
Mostly B’s
The Partly Cloudy Kid
Your kid has a hard time transitioning from dreamland to go time. She’s not unpleasant in the morning just very, very slow. An earlier bedtime might be in order, but sometimes the sleepiness is just part of a person’s natural body rhythms.
If partly cloudy kids have their prep work done at night, they can easily squeeze the morning routine into 20 minutes and maximize the sleeping in time.
Make bathing, picking out clothes, packing lunches and backpacks, finding shoes, and planning breakfast all parts of the nighttime routine and your mornings will be as smooth as the sunshine kid!
Mostly C’s
The Stormy Kid
No matter how sweet you are about waking up your stormy kid, you are met with grumpiness and pushback. We all have some mornings like this, but some kids suffer this nearly every morning. It’s a hard way to start the day for the whole family but there are some tricks to try to ease the situation.
Rather than allowing him to sleep until the last minute thinking that more rest will make him less irritable, try waking him up earlier. Giving stormy kids more time and more quiet space to get going in the morning tamps down the stress of rush, rush, rush that can often go with that time of day. Make a checklist of things that need to be done in the morning so there is no need to nag. Once those tasks are completed, your stormy kid can use the remaining before school time for fun: pleasure reading, coloring, or screen time to ease into the day. Plan for 60 – 90 minutes in the morning to bring out the sunshine!
The morning weather mood can determine the forecast for the whole day. But this is the kind of weather you can control with a little insight and planning.