foolproof, witchproof, shoutproof morning routines anyone?

[alhambra]

hello.I am totally dreading the return to school and early mornings. For us it's wednesday, which is a bit later than some, so hopefully some of you will be a bit more organised than me on this one. Does anyone have a relaxed,organised morning routine I could steal? Or if not both relaxed and organised, at least one, as I currently manage neither? I am on my own at the moment, with a 6 and a 4, both incredibly prone to emotional outbursts early in the morning.I am an owl by nature and rubbish - irascible, shouty - in the mornings. I have been in denial about the necessity for some kind of routine for the whole holidays, and now I have less than two days to get my head round it. The thought of returning to last term's routine of shouting and tears and feeling in need of valium by 9am is filling me with dread..............

lol

get packed lunches and all uniform (including hairbrush, clips etc if necessary, shoes and socks and bags) ready the night before.

NO telly until they have eaten breakfast, washed and dressed.

oh and breakfast things out the night before.

Get clothes ready the night before
Ditto packed lunches
Lay breakfast table night before
Make a no TV rule in the morning until everyone is dressed

snap - same advice in same minute

lol

I have to be relaxed as dd1 panics and bursts into tears if I get cross or stressed. So I have enforced relaxation in the morning.

everyone dressed before you go downstairs (tricky if messy eaters) but getting them back up once they are down can be hard work.

I am lucky in that DD would HATE to be late for school so all I do is say "ok, you'll be late for school then" and she's off like a rocket!

alhambra owl nature has to be tamed is the best advice. esepecial sunday - thursday. Slightly earlier nights will help your mood in the morning.

Organise school stuff at night before the children go to bed, ie make sure pe kits, book bags and home work is all together. Have a set routine in the morning and stick to it like any other thing in childrens lives they like to know the bounderies. The biggest thing I did was the rule no TV until everthing is read in the morning, breakfast, dressed bathroom routine is completed. Surpriseing how much time you get to yourself in teh am when they wat to watch the TV. Get the children to turn off when you say with in a few weeks it should be cracked.

Will let you know Wednesday LOL, It is my DS first day at school on wednesday and he......
sleeps 12 hours a night and refuses to get up early
Will not eat breakfast within an hour of waking up.
Incredibly unhelpful when it comes to getting dresses and washed etc.

And I have 21 month twins to get ready too.
I have been practicing hard, but so far have not been ready before 9.30 am.

I am dreading it, I am not a morning person

Awwww Waterfalls, I know how you feel!!
Jades 1st day at school was when the Twins were Newborn

Absoloute chaos!!

She went into year one when they wre 1yr and to be honest don't think I managed to crack a good routine till they were off to school themselves and now we have another 1

I'd like to second mumbee's advice about sleep. You may be a natural owl, but nothing will be as effective at making you (and therefore your kids) less stressed, more relaxed and more organised in the mornings, than having had a proper night's sleep and waking up refreshed. (Says she, who every night swears that this is the night she'll be in bed by 10PM and then pisses about on Mumsnet until 11.30PM!)

What sound advice from you all.I was hoping there was a lazier way of accomplishing it, but it seems that - no - organisation,preparation are the way forward. We don't even watch tv in the mornings - we are too busy shouting at the moment - maybe we should give that a go as a carrot. Someone mentioned - on another thread - having AN EXTRA TOOTHBRUSH EACH DOWNSTAIRS so they don't have to go up and do their teeth after breakfast. I think I should do this but I find it terrifyingly organised. Enid I am inspired by the term "enforced relaxation." How does one go about this? Is there an online course? Caligula, Mumbee, you are too wise for this owl. You are absolutely right, of course, but then when am I meant watch needless American drama series, surf mumsnet and read? How do you do it?

ooooh I'm the toothbrush downstairs person.
I have now expanded that to include clothes, shoes, hairbrush AND toothbrush downstairs. they eat breakfast in their pjs (nothing more stressful than weetabix encrusted on a clean school jumper) and then get dressed etc in the kitchen. also means that I can continue saying "please eat up. please sit down and eat up.." incessantly to nos 1 and 3 while I supervise no 2 (speedy eater) getting dressed. And then there is NO excuse for them to wander upstairs and get lost/distracted/enter into fisticuffs with each other....

oh yes I bring everything downstairs the night before

cool, now I have a downstairs loo I can put toothbrushes in it

I am totally in awe. How did you all get to be so organised? Are you all exceptionally high-acheiving nicola horlick types? I missed out on that gene in a big way. You have all just confirmed what I long suspected, that I am actually still in denial about the nitty gritty of parenting, and still hoping that someone else will get on and do it for me. Right, now it's my lunchhour,off to get spare toothbrushes and pat myself on the back for at least thinking ahead a bit. Please keep the tips coming in.

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Make sure your own clothes are ready too. And someone said keep your dressing gown or some old thing on over your clothes until the last possible minute or they will get covered. Do everything 10 minutes before you need to or you won't get out on time. If you have flash points, think about them in advance, i.e. ds used to sometimes suddenly decide he HAD to do his hair a particular way at 8.44am, not amusing. So I'd ask him to check at 8.25am and then if there was going to be a fuss it would all be over by 8.44 or whatever.

I like the spare toothbrush idea but I dont have a downstairs toilet or bathroom. Is it unhygienic to brush over the kitchen sink?

these are great. thank you. flash points www, oh yes. We certainly have those. Kind of a perpetual electric storm. so thanks.

if the kids can tell the time set it 10 mins earlier than it really is

Soupies pasta jar for us

DD gets a piece of pasta for laying out all her clothes, hairstuff, shoes etc the night before. She packs her bag, gets her snack ready, packs correct sports kit etc.

Then DD and DS both get a piece of pasta in the morning if they are both dressed, fed, teethcleaned by 7.30. Then they get 15 mins tv before we leave the house!

Works like a treat

An other strict and super-organised household here! We have loads of rules, but it does mean mornings are rarely stressful.

My top tips would be:

• an alarm clock for your children
• allow plenty of time for breakfast
• encourage them to take responsibility for themselves

ALARM CLOCK
The boys' alarm goes off at 7.20, and I go in open the curtains, switch the light on, and press the 'snooze' button. When it goes off the second time (7.30) they have to get up and switch it off themselves. They then have to be dressed and downstairs within 10 minutes.
We established this by having a tick chart for a week or so, to see who could achieve this most often.
To speed them up we have sometimes timed them (as a race) getting dressed and pinned the results in the breakfast room.
Ds2 gets dressed downstairs (divide and conquer!)

PLENTY OF TIME FOR BREAKFAST
I like a leisurely relaxed breakfast, with time to chat, and the boys sometimes eat slowly. So we allow lots of time for breakfast. (We have up to 40 mins, though usually only take about 25, with the carrot that they can have 'free choice' if they are finished and ready early.)

ENCOURAGE THEM TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
The night before I get the boys to check their own bags - we have a checklist pinned up in the hall.
They also have to fold their uniform neatly, and put out clean underwear ready for the next day.
They are responsible for getting themselves ready and dressed. I do not get involved. Once they've been told to get dressed I don't go in again ... but there are consequences if they don't meet their targets. (And praise when they do!)

Finally - make sure you're all getting enough sleep. I know some people are not good in the mornings, but it is a lot worse if children or adults are tired and grumpy.

I found this theead when googling help for mprning rotines. @alhambra i am intrigued- your DC must be 21 and 19 now. Did you ever crack the morning routine - youbsound like me, please gove me some hope