What do your morning routines look like - getting ready for school...

[Timetheworldsaysicantafford]

I'm thinking ahead to next week and school starting again... Hoping for a bit of a fresh start routine wise. Currently our kids get up about 7am ish, and eat breakfast on the sofa and put the TV on straight away... They have 45 mins or so of "waking up" and then go get dressed, teeth brushed etc when we ask /nag them to. I'd love us to sit and have breakfast as a family but that's just a step too far given work and timings. How can I manageably make the mornings a bit better/please tell me what your mornings look like?? Kids ages 7 and 9 🙂

Only have one 8 year old so mornings not difficult. And we have a short walk to school so plenty of time.

He watches TV in our bed. Even has his breakfast in bed sometimes. He still manages to get himself ready on time and mornings are never stressful. I don't need or want a no TV rule.

We have 9, 7 and a baby (4 months), in France so school starts earlier but is very close. DH wakes older children by 7.30 if not already up and supervises breakfast (if he's away they get breakfast themselves), while I feed, dress, change baby. No TV until boys have cleared breakfast, dressed, packed school bags and put them in the hall, they usually get 5-10 mins before they leave with DH at 8.10 to be at school for 8.20.

Uniform and bags/lunches ready the night before.

Get up and wash faces and get dressed. With the eldest DC, I'm now going to start getting her to get into the habit of making her bed and PJ's etc not just chucked on the floor as she is so messy!

Downstairs and have breakfast at table.

Do hair and clean teeth.

Then they can have screens for a bit if there's time left but usually only time for about 10mins and we have to go as they don't wake up early on school days. Crack of dawn at the weekends though! 🙄

@Sunnyqueen the M&S school trousers and shirts I buy never need ironing if they’re hung up when they come out of the washing machine.

School jumpers also gets dried flat when wet and has never needed an iron.

DD is 9 and not a morning person, so I'm usually up, showered, dressed and organised before she finally wakes up around 8. I'd love to move this forwards to 7.45 - I've bought her an echo for so will start setting an alarm.

I drag her up and dressed and then we sit together and have breakfast for 15 mins until we have to start saying, "TEETH, SHOES, GYM KIT, HOMEWORK!" and nagging her to get everything together. Leave the house at 8.35 if all on target - 5 minute walk to school but we are often among the last ones to arrive!

No time for TV in the mornings here and I don't allow devices during meals normally.

06:30 - DH gets up and finishes their lunches and makes sure their bags are packed properly

07:00 - both kids up and down for breakfast
07:00 - I'm up and sit with them for breakfast (but don't eat, I have my breakfast at 9:30)

07:20 - kids get washed, dressed, teeth done

07:30 - DH leaves for work

07:45 - I walk the kids to school

No TV in the morning - if they have time for TV they have time for more sleep imo

No screens / devices until they have had breakfast / dressed / teeth / hair and ready to walk out the door apart from shoes. Bags sorted the night before.

They get up at 6.15 and leave at 7.30. Once they are ready they can go on their phone s/ watch tv.

DCs (6 & 8) wake around 7 and we need to leave for school at 8.30. We have a rule that if they want to watch TV later that day they must have done at least 10 mins of independent reading, so they'll often do it before getting up. They get themselves dressed and teeth brushed (they brush then we give them a go over), then head down to make themselves breakfast - they are very motivated by food, so we've found by insisting no food until dressed/brushed, they faff far less to get ready. It focuses their minds! We've stopped allowing TV before school as they were too busy watching it and not eating their breakfast, and it was getting really difficult to tear them away from it. When they were younger they would eat in front of the TV as it kept them safely engaged in one place whilst I ran round and got everything else ready. Last year I would get both DCs' bags ready whilst they ate breakfast. This year I will be getting my 8yo to start doing her own bag and, on the days we have time, making her own packed lunch. I will still do the 6yo's bag.

Kids 3 and 5

I get up 0730 and sort dogs and breakfast things.
Get kids up at 0745 where they eat breakfast in the kitchen.

They then get 5 minutes play before being continually cajoled into getting washed and dressed.

I do their hair and then its teeth brush and jackets/shoes on.

I then put dogs and kids in the car and leave house around 0840.

Drop at school, walk dogs then home for my shower before starting work.

Bags and uniforms are sorted the night before to save time in the morning.

It mostly runs smoothly depending on how much they dilly dally when eating/dressing.