How old we dc when they got themselves ready in the morning?

[DeathMetalMum]

Reliably? I mean you could ask them to go and get dressed and have a wash and they'd do it without messing around or playing halfway through or dancing round the bathroom? Trying to work out if my expectations are too high or I need to crack down on dd's a bit. They're 6&8 and unless someone is watching them like a hawk they just mess and it just doesn't happen. Dd1 can just about manage it by herself if she's alone (dd2 is the master at time wasting which doenst help) but if I asked them to go up at the same time then they just piss about until I start shouting someone goes upstairs to officiate and it's driving me insane.

DD is 8. She can get herself dressed and ready. Sometimes she needs a hurry up but mostly she’s pretty good. She doesn’t have a sibling to distract her though.

Gotta say, I still have to bouncer mine, DD & DS almost 10 and DD who I 7. We get up at 7 to be out of the house by 8 for school. Invariably it is 10 past but we try to get to school on time, although registration doesn't close until 8:50 which is a life saver on those really difficult days.

DD's are more reliable than DS I have to say. I have to remind him to put pants on, yep, pants. Thats boys for you!

They also all get ready for school downstairs in the kitchen so I can bouncer/make breakfast at the same time. Weekends they get ready upstairs and I tend to start everyone getting ready at least an hour before we need to leave.

Not sure if that's just the twin mum in me, but old habits die hard!

I also have their uniform ready for them to put on on a morning, and if we are going to something important like say a christening, I would also get their clothes out for them.

Otherwise, we would have a chav, a pantless wonder and a tutu clad, welly wearing 7 year old.

And I wonder why I am down to my last marble

Good luck,

H x

I started mine very young. Now 12 and 9.
My DS younger than my DD but that was because she was doing it he wanted to.

They have set their own morning alarms and got their own breakfast and dressed for school completely reliably since age 7 and 4 - DS only needed help with a shirt button for the first couple of weeks at school (summer born to boot).

I've always been practical though, laid out clothes night before with them (don't anymore).
Buy milk in 1 pint cartons so they can pour and check cereal packets are open if they run out etc.

I still send DS back to the bathroom regularly for more teeth brushing.
I haven't even run him a bath for at least 3 years.

What would suit you to have them do to make a start?

At 8 if they were by themselves. Easily distracted by younger siblings otherwise.

when my ds started school at 4 he got himself ready. We have had the routine for many years of me getting up first showering getting dressed, waking ds up do he can get in the shower and then dh follows him in. He's 15 now and occasionally needs a shout to hurry up!

We did it this way because we knew he'd have to dress himself at school and felt it was good practice, but also we both work and don't have time to mess about in the morning. We all need to be out of the house at 8 so you got up and got on, it was just what you had to do.

I think at 6 and 8 they should be able to get themselves ready. I take it their clothes are put out ready for them.

The boys were both 6/7. Sent to separate bathrooms so it minimised messing. At 7 where i am they were not allowed in female drsssing room after swimming so needed to get them proficient before they went to the male dressing rooms alone.

My DC are 7, 8 and 9 and they have been dressing themselves for school without prompt since reception so from four onwards.

Mine’s 10 , he’s easily distracted and forgets what he’s supposed to be doing half way through. He’s in his own little world half the time.

whattodowith there’s quite a big difference between being able to dress yourself and actually getting yourself ready. I think the op is talking about the later-getting clothes from the wardrobe, getting yourself a towel, having a shower, cleaning you teeth, getting dry, putting your clothes on, going downstairs to get your shoes, coat and bad on.

My DS could dress himself at 4.

Mines great if you turn it into a race. It doesnt happen at all otherwise. Usually its 'lets see if you can get dressed and teeth brushed before ive done my hair and make up'. Hes 6. I let him win or else i have a strop to deal with.

I started finding DS downstairs, in uniform and having breakfast before my alarm went off by the time he was 8.

There is no power on Earth to wake him up early on the weekends so I would say that they would only make the effort if there is something interesting happening before the start of the school day, like playing football in the school grounds or catching the same bus as their friends.

Yes they can both physically do everything, it's just actually doing it that's the issue. Dressing isn't the problem really they do that fairly well without any 'bouncering' - brilliant explanation. It's just all the faff in between. I see from pp's though that it's almost expected for their age. I wish we had the time or space to separate them in the morning a bit more but on a school day (or when we have gymnastics on a Sunday morning) there isn't.

My 6 year old gets up and dressed himself each morning but I’m not sure how it happened to be honest.
I think he was just so excited about school he got ready himself and presented himself at 6am and has just carried on. Shoes coat and back pack, the complete package.

Obviously I have to nag re teeth brushing.

DS is 4 and can get himself ready. At weekends he picks his clothes out and during the week I've put all the school stuff in the same drawer and he gets ready (minus the tie which I do for him). Sometimes needs reminded to just get sorted rather than playing but he's really good and has been doing it since he was 3 (just picked any clothes for nursery and I just ignored the horror colour combos).

I'm strict on this. I don't want to be shouting or nagging in the morning. 8.30am by the door ready, non negotiable, hairbrush and bobble in hand so that I can do their hair. About 6yo I think. Possibly younger. Dd1 only started doing her own hair at 10, and I'm still doing dd2s hair at 8. Nothing elaborate, no choice given, pony tail.

About 5 years old at the latest. They've been dressing themselves since they were physically able to do so, so around 2 or 3.
Now at 12, 9 and 7 they do all their morning routine before I even get out of my bedroom. Uniform, breakfast, teeth, wash and I do their hair. They could get up when I do but they're morning people and prefer to get up earlier and then they can sit and play their iPad before school. They get up between 7 and 7:30am.

Mone are 5 and nearly 8.
I get their clothes put the night before and wake them 45 minutes before we leave for school.

Then its just a case of telling them to do the next stage of the process and they are usually pretty good at getting on and doing it. We still supervise teeth and do the 5 year olds breakfast.

Neither want to be late for school so they dont mess too much for once

About 7. But I make sure the order is up, teeth, hair, get dressed, breakfast. So if they faff, there’s no time for breakfast. They like breakfast, and walking to school eating a slice of bread is not as nice as porridge with berries and honey.

Just to add, the 12 year old doesn't help her younger siblings so she's not responsible for them at all but she does pop in their room and gives them a little kiss and a cuddle every morning to wake them because they want her to. I let them get on with their own little routines.

The nearly 8 year old is also now in the habit of checking the clock and knowing how much time we have left before leaving

My 4yo DS will go and get dressed himself if I tell him to. He still needs reminding to brush his teeth though, as part of getting ready in the morning.

Mine relapsed in their pre teens, you have been warned..,

To be fair I've let them suffer the consequences of being late for school rather than resort to a screaming harpie.

When I first moved in with my partner, I was shocked that his son (age 15) couldn't get ready on his own. My partner had to wake him up (he ignored his own alarm), make his breakfast, pack his bag, remind him to get a shower and brush his teeth and hair, AND (not joking) tie his shoelaces for him.

He started college this year and I have urged by partner to do some tough love, as this can't go on anymore. So he now gets up and does everything for himself and gets the bus to college - and he's fine! I wonder how long he would have let his dad do everything for him?

My DS is 4,5 now and if he's feeling cooperative, he can dress himself, including picking clothes out with a bit of guidance (no uniform where I live), but most days he still wants help. Teeth brushing is still done by me or DH and he shares his breakfast with DH (habit and tradition, rather than him being incapable as he can eat his breakfast perfectly fine if needs be).

Over the next few months I want DS to be able to make his own packed lunch for school.

My aim is that in the next year he will become more independent in the morning.