Your help required - top tips on surviving the school run

If pushed for time, a jam buttie in the car makes a good breakfast. Lol@the pjs tips!

I get up 20 minutes before everyone else, so I am ready come what may

As said by many, organisation is the key. I have a wicker basket where book bags go when dc come back from school. I put it by the front door when i get up and chuck packed lunches, snacks, kit if needed, hats and coats too. Everyday shoes go in one of those coloured trugs in understairs cupboard. Coats hung up.

Do as much as you can the night before. Uniform ready, books in book bag. I make sandwiches in evening but assemble pack lunches in morning. Breakfast is fairly regimented. 2 choices of cereal and toast. Sometimes they have a choice of spread. Mostly tho they don't. Water to drink. Brush teeth before uniform. Toothpaste a nightmare to remove from polyester. No playing before completely ready with shoes by door. Drum it into them enough it will become second nature. I try to put on my best Mary Poppins voice too but despite all above usually end up sounding like a mean cop.

Get yourself showered and dressed before even entertaining allowing the children to come out of their bedrooms.

If you have more than one child, encourage them to race one another to get dressed.
Also agree with, get all bags etc ready the night before,frozen sandwiches, no tv in the morning, and shout a lot

I get everything ready the night before. Their clothes are laid out ready and they always leave their shoes and coats downstairs ready for the morning.

We set the table ready for breakfast so that when they get up they can help themselves to cereal. Then the morning is theirs until I call them to get ready for school. As everything is set out already it only takes them 10 minutes to get ready for school and then they know they can play until its time to go.

I get them to get their shoes and coats on 5 mins before we leave the house as with ds it can easily take that long. The child who behaves best in the car gets first go on the playstation when they get home and that seems to work well.

We also do a token scheme and they earn tokens for doing all the tasks expected of them in the morning (and the rest of the day) and they can also earn extra tokens to spend for really good behaviour.

We have a shelf by the front door called the school shelf. It's above the kids pegs. It has letters to and from school, homework, water bottles, money pots etc.

on a Friday we make a week plan for the week ahead (we go Saturday to Sunday as dh has to have his weekend planned too ) and we mark on it all the week's activities, including when they have school/playgroup/swimming/football etc.
I even include favourite tv show, but now Robin Hodd's ended, it's blank.

We stick this plan up (just printed on a piece of A4) low down in the kitchen, so everyone knows who's got what when. The kids really like knowing what's going on, and even the non-reader can recognise key words in the weekly programme. really helps us all keep organised

It was Zebra who said she put her children to bed in their school clothes iirc.

Good one batters. a bit too late for some of us though.

This book has a whole chapter about how to accessorise your pyjamas so you can nip out wearing them.

Don't attempt to shower, put on make up or put any thought into your wardrobe as you'll only fail and upset yourself. Let go of your personal satorial ambitions from the outset.

The school run risks falling apart spectacularly if there are any last minute hitches. For example, someone's gloves are lost or there's only one shoe available for a child and the other could be anywhere.

Deep level preparation is the key making sure that each pack member takes some personally responsibility if they are 2.5 or above. Drill them, when they RETURN from school, to hang up coats and bags on their own peg(s), put shoes in shoe place, take lunchbox/money pot and water bottle to kitchen.
No telly or drawing or reading or anything until this is done. Mine do it like robots now.

Also get up early. Give yourself ten minutes extra for unforseens because, with the best of intentions, unforseens occur around 76% of the time IME.

Leave in good time so that you don't feel rushed. Children who are being rushed and made to walk quicker than they'd like can be stroppy and argumentative. It isn't worth the risk. Go at meandering pace.

Invest in a Gaggia Cubika Espresso machine to improve your performance from the word go.

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must be some quote of the week on here!
Porridge is a dangerous buisness springsto mind!

For girls with very long hair: do hair on sunday evening into a tight french plait (whilst wet) and it will still look lovely in the morning, no need to brush! (mondays are always the worse days)

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Get up late - I always get everything done much faster by way of compensation

Have a baby - that way you'll be up at 5am anyway and rearing to go

Persuade husband to work from home to help

Keep extra toothbrushes and toothpaste in the kitchen

Set an egg timer for everyone to beat each morning - chocolate on a Friday if you succeed

If you are pushing a buggy, keep extra make-up in your handbag so that you can lay it out on top of the buggy and apply as you go

Do a homework check the night before then don't have to fit spellings or printing somethign off the internet into the already hectic morning routine.