Please share your calm morning routines that work.... DS is 6 and went to school screaming and I started crying while talking to teacher

[Numberfour]

He is usually fine! Bright, content, involved, has friends etc etc.

I KNOW what my mistakes in the morning are: I do not have a set routine and I sometimes let him watch tv or play pc games and that really and truly f*cks things up.

But, I wondered if anyone could tell me what their routine is so that I can try them out.

Obviously there will be no tv and no pc games anymore - ridiculously obvious starting point but every now and then I think he can manage it. It is clear that he cannot!

Any ideas?

The gags by the front door are two-fold.

I soften them up with a couple of amusing gags. While they are laughing I put the gags on them so they shut the feck up on the walk to school.

I know that most of the problem is mine, in that I do not stick to a routine, and that I change what I do in the morning for DS, too. This morning he got dressed by himeself which is a rarity (despite being 6!!!) so I let him play on the pc for 5 minutes.

When I told him that 5 minutes were up (and that was after we had decided to go to the cinema durin half term when i did not have any childminded children!), all hell broke loose.

I was so angry with him. I had to walk away to stop myself screeching, swearing and worse

I'm going to keep this thread.
DS is only 3, and there is no nursery routine.
But that is mainly because he wakes up at completely different times
This last week he has woken up at 5.30, got into my bed, and gone back to sleep just as I have to get up. So I leave him there while I get ready, and then he won't wake up!

Completely different at the weekend, when he wants to go downstairs at the crack of dawn.

Have a look on my blog.

Morning has broken

Boffin, I have just had a quick squizz as I am off to uni now. Looks brilliant. Thanks!!!

I have a routine a bit like DUThinkHeSarus, but I manage to get ready inbetween other DC getting read. A also allow up to 20 minutes for coats and shoes. This also gives us time for any last minute hiccups, squabbles & strops (always plenty), & similar.

I get my DD up at the last moment so that there is as little time as possible to get distracted.

I put a bowl of cereal and a glass of milk on her bedside table at 7.45, and get in my bath. The noise from my bath (en suite to my bedroom, which itself has a door connecting to her room) plus the light from my bedroom wake her up and she helps herself to breakfast and gets up to go to the loo at around 8. She then washes, dresses (with a bit of help) and puts on her shoes as I am drying my hair and getting my clothes and make-up on. We leave the house at 8.30 - school starts at 9.