School-run Psychosis: ALWAYS LATE and it's driving me **mental** - please help!!

[FlossieT]

Sorry about all the punctuation....

Why are we always, always, always 5 minutes (sometimes more) late for school?

I have tried:

• putting clothes out, laying breakfast table and getting school bags ready the night before
• insisting children are dressed before they come down for breakfast
• HELPING the children get dressed before they come down for breakfast (as in, literally putting the shirts over their rotten little heads)
• getting up earlier
• starting to try to leave the house earlier

and NOTHING seems to work - invariably, I am a screaming banshee in the hallway and the boys are hopping around aimlessly, shoeless and vacant.

If you have solved this problem - or even found some clever tricks that make it less terrible - I would love it if you would share them as I am going out of my tiny mind trying to address this.

Yours just-about-clinging-to-sanity-by-the-tips-of-my-fingertips...

I have 2 childres (aged 4 and 7) at 2 different schools, and I don't drive, so it's a military operation getting both of them to school within gate opening/shutting times.
Both of them are happy to be dropped at the entrance to school grounds, so this is a typical school run:
6.30am up and breakfasted
7am up to play in rooms
7.30am shout "are you dressed yet"...(3 second pause and then the reply)..."we're getting dressed!)
7.40am remind children to tidy their rooms
8am check rooms, ask them to actually tidy them
8.10am rifle through book bags, "what do we need today?"
8.20am coats, hats, shoes, scarf (cycle helmets, reflective jackets)
8.30am prop children on saddle/child seat of my bike and push them to DSs school
8.35am leave DS to wait by his classroom, cycle to DDs school
8.40am drop off DD at school gates, watch her go into school, cycle to work
8.45 arrive at work, try to look human as I get my breath back and have a cup of tea before 9am start.

looking at it like that, I don't know how I can work all day afterwards. I shall try not to think about it again....

I'm one of those who struggles with being late, it kind of hurt my feelings the people who posted that they "don't understand" lateness, like we're slackers for being late. Believe me, i am super-organised and I am a whirl of activity in the mornings. But I struggle to organise 4 other slow-moving people, especially on many years of too little sleep (chronic insomnia + 4 kids).

It turns out the trick for us (besides everything most others have mentioned) is to allow 20 minutes for putting on shoes and coats. Yes, 20 MINUTES. This means on an excellent day we are 15 minutes early, but on a normal day if the children have last minute crises or a strop walking to school or step in a deep puddle so have to go back to the house to swap shoes or someone forget something important (ETC), then we have some slack in the system.

I have it so easy. dd is 13 and gets herself ready for school in an hour. I am not allowed downstairs until she is ready to go out the door. I get a lie in and she gets to play her music, watch tv and chose her own breakfast.
Mind you we used to have years of screaming at each other. If I got up early, I did everything slowly and started doing non-essential things like sitting down and ended up being late.
We only live 4.5 minutes from primary school and my theory is that the closer you live to your destination, the later you will be. Now there are many more miles to the college, dd is early/on time.

Thank you ladies for making me laugh and feel far less guilty. My DS literally slows down as its time to leave for, anything really, but especially school. On the odd occasion that we are running early (once in a blue moon) people worry when they see us, and assume they must also be late. Today DS went for a wee, about 5 minutes before 'leaving time', fine ... no, not fine, he now has wee all over the loo and himself! Quick change later and drive to school to realise that we have'nt got his glasses and no tissues in bag for cold! Give me strength I thought, I am useless, but now, well, I don't seem to be alone! Thank you.

FlossieT - could your getting ready be slowing them down? Have a shower before bed so you just need to get dressed & slap on make up.

I was saying to a friend yesterday;

"don't you think that just after 5 past eight time goes much faster and it soon is half past?"

her answer was:
" Of course it goes faster! it's because the hands of the clock are going down!"

My 2 are teenagers and know that if they're ready by 8 they can have a lift with dh. If not then they have a 20 minute walk. Strangely this seems to give them the incentive they need to get up in good time and get themselves ready!