morning rush

[forgetandforgive]

i would like some ideas please on how to make my two boys get up for school in the morning. i set the snooze button on at 7.30 and it would go off 3 times till 7.30. i will nag and tell them to wake up but they just totally ignore me or my eldest 10 would say 5 more mins. befote i know it its 8am. The dc both have eczema so their sleeping are interupted with itcheness. my youngest son 8 used to be good at getting up on time now he just copies his brother. i feel like dragging them out of bed like it or not. i would expect at their age they shouldnt rely on me to get them up for school.

Ds2 has eczema so I can really sympathise. Are you seen by a dermatologist. We had great success with the Aveeno range.

They have to get up for school and that is that. Do they have screen time. I have found this a good bargaining tool. If you are up and in the shower at 7:15 you get your hours screen time after school if not you go to bed earlier. (This, of course, is not a punishment. If you can't get up you have not been in bed long enough). Ds2 and ds3 both get up without any prompting. Ds1 still needs incentive (he does have some sn's but I am hard)

yes both my sons are been seen by their skin specialist. they can watch tv as soon as they come down. it has always been that way. but the eldest always have an excuse not to get up. i think i need somes ground rules before it gets out of hands. i dont really set any rules or timetable. but they share a room together and would not fall asleep untill 9.30 pm eventhough if told to sleep at 8pm.

Do they get dressed or have breakfast first? Mine used to have breakfast first but swapping it round makes them get dressed quicker because they are hungry!

Doesn't solve your real problem but might save you a few minutes

my 2 have an alarm clock in their rooms so when it goes off they have to get out of bed to switch it off. Take their covers off them in the morning?

Screen time. Everything comes down to bloody screen time in our house.

To be fair they will get out of bed, but think they are getting dressed if they put on a pair if pants then sit for a chat and play with Lego.

One day this week DS2 only got as far as pulling PJ bottoms down to his knees before kneeling down to play

Anyway, the merest mention of no Minecraft or Pokémon tends to focus the mind.

Hi forgetandforgive:

First off use TV against them.

NO TV unless you're up, creamed, dressed & fed & possess clean teeth by 8:15. So TV is the reward for getting those not so glamorous jobs done.

SECOND - this is when parents are allowed to be evil. So enjoy it. DH and I agree 7:30 is the limit, after that it's lights on, radio blaring, clanging of pans, etc...

THIRD - remember that long term learning to get up, get yourself organised (clean teeth, brushed hair, fed, dressed) is a life skill.

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I know it's Arghh! Awful! and you feel bad because clearly your children aren't sleeping well with their excema.

As others have suggested, talk to your doctor. My children had excema when infants (so before primary) and I certain found major changes of season (Summer to Autumn/ Winter to Spring) often were times of flair ups.

Also talk about diet with the doctor. My husband's cousin has severe excema and she has followed a very strict diet for years which she feels has helped enormously. She still has to regularly cream - but her skin is healthy and she feels so much better for it.

HTH