Share your school morning hacks with Arla Big Milk – chance to win £300 voucher!NOW CLOSED

[RebeccaEMumsnet]

Whether you’re celebrating or commiserating, it will soon be time to go back to school. For some, it will be the first time their DCs put on their (slightly too large) school uniforms and head off into primary school. To make the new routine a little easier for first-time school mums, Arla wants to know what clever tricks and hacks you use to make everything run a little smoother during your own school week.

Here’s what Arla has to say: 'Being a parent is often unpredictable and getting your little one the nutrients they need isn’t always easy. That’s why Arla Big Milk has been developed to specifically meet the needs of growing children from ages one to five*, enriched with essential nutrients to help support children’s growth and development as part of their balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. Arla Big Milk ‘helping your little ones become big ones’

If your DC is starting school this September, what do you plan to do to prepare them (and yourself!) for the change? Are you going to rehearse the school routine, or the school run? Do you have a plan to cope with your own emotions on their first day?

If you already been there and done it - once that scary first day was out of the way how did you keep the momentum going? Did you turn getting ready for school into a fun challenge, with strict time limits and music? Perhaps you’re a stickler for getting lunches, uniforms and bags prepared and set out the night before, ready for the day ahead? Do you end up resorting to good old bribery to get the kids out of the door on time?

Whatever your tip or hack is, Arla want to hear about it, so post a comment below. Everyone who posts will be entered into a prize draw where one Mumsnetter will receive a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Insight T&Cs Apply

*The Department of Health recommends that children at the age of one move onto fresh whole cows’ milk and that their diets are supplemented with additional Vitamin, A, D and Iron

Uniforms and packed lunches are prepared the night before and coats/bookbags etc are left where they can easily be found.

We get up no later than 7am so that there is plenty of time to get ready and eat breakfast. Even though we only live 10mins from the school, I always feel rushed if we get up even just a few minutes late. I think it's because we have a routine that has been followed for a few years: breakfast, wash, teeth, dressed, then tv can be watched while I get DD ready and then we are relaxed before leaving.

This year DD is starting nursery, but it makes no change to our 'get ready' routine.

Getup half an hour earlier than you think you need to - unsurprisingly first day back at school can be a big thing to deal with and little ones can really act up. Not being pushed for time helps you deal with any stressiness more calmly.

Labels labels labels

Have everything labelled and ready the night before they go back and set the alarm.

Totally agree with photographing all school letters.

Start a FB group for class parents to join and share confusion over unclear letters and homework.

Sort out everything the night before...

I get breakfasts ready in tupperware the night before. Frozen fruit and yoghurt - then the fruit defrosts overnight and just needs opening in the morning. No prep

Get everything ready the night before and if you allow TV in the morning make sure it's on the condition that they dress themselves prior to it being on.

Independent report on fortified milks for children aged 1yr+, concludes:

"Fortified milks are an example of an unnecessary product designed to make profit and heavily marketed without evidence to substantiate claims made. If parents and carers spent the same amount of money on local, diverse foods, this would provide most children with the nutrients they need"

Toothbrush and paste in downstairs toilet.

Everything ready the night before.
Everything labelled.
A timer for making sure breakfast gets eaten otherwise it gets taken away.
A timetable for the morning so everyone knows what they should be doing when.

Shoes, coats and bags by the door, uniform laid out the night before. I always make packed lunch before I go to bed as well.

Top tip - aim to be ready 5 minutes before you have to leave, then you have a bit of what DD1 calls 'wiggle room' for the unexpected nappy change, forgotten gym bag, permission slip etc.

Get as much ready the night before as you can. For the little ones who are nervous about their first day at school, arrange, if possible, to walk to school with anothe child who may also be starting that day - perhaps someone who they went to nursery with. We walk to school, but if you go in the car, then maybe park a little further away from school so you can walk the last bit with a friend so they are not going in on their own.

Give them something to show and tell their new teacher about from their summer holiday, so that they have a reason to go and speak to their new teacher and something to be proud of to show them.

Make a special breakfast (we are going to be having pancakes on the first day back at school) and sit and eat it together.

I usually promise an after-school treat too on the first day back like a comic or a trip to the ice cream parlour.

When both of mine started primary, I used to find that EVERYONE would constantly be asking them during the summer holiday whether they were excited about starting school - friends and relatives would, as well as people we would encounter in shops and out and about. I found it got to the stage where my youngest, who was initially relaxed about starting school, started to get quite anxious when she was asked about it because people were making a bigger deal of it than we were. I made sure to tell her that she needn't be worried, and that it was ok if she didn't feel excited about it, because how could she be excited about something that was so new to her? We forget that although we know what school will be like for them, that they don't really have a clue, so lots of reassurance I think. That said, my youngest, who goes into year 2 this year, was upset for about the first 3 months of reception - she didn't settle in at all easily, so maybe ignore all my advice!

Bags fully packed and we always set out uniforms the night before. I even set out crockery for breakfast if I have time. Pre soaking your porridge oats with milk and dried fruit also helps.All this buys buys you some time in the morning, always needed as you will find your child telling you right at the last minute that they need to bring in money, a certain book, dress up..etc.

My tip is: brush teeth before getting dressed. Otherwise toothpaste on the pinafore is a bugger to remove.
Also, when you send them to wash their face, check that they've done it.

We do a couple of mornings of prep beforehand. We do a practise run, and talk through what will happen on the day. As a result, our little one has found starting nursery and school pretty chilled! Oh, and I label everything. Sun cream. Everything..

All bags ready the night before, lunches made in fridge. Chalkboard with gym kit days, instruments needed etc marked up.

Do not switch the TV on under any circumstances!! Even if you have half an hour and you're all ready, TV eats time in the morning!

Set their clothers out on their bed whilst they're asleep so that they are ready for the morning, and make sure you've bought at least three of everything - stuff will be "lost" regularly !!

We do mornings the same way every day. Kids get up around 7-7.30

They have breakfast and go and change into uniforms. Teeth and hair by 8am and then they can play until we leave.

At this point I get ready. I have 45 mins then to get myself organised, pack the car and leave.

It works really well as I'm not nagging them five minutes before we have to leave to get dressed!

The night before: Uniform out, shoes by the door, lunches made , bags packed.

In the morning: Run to a strict timetable, e.g Up at 7.15, downstairs by 7.30, teeth at 8.00, coats and shoes on 8.15. We also have a washbag downstairs to clean teeth, wash breakfast and toothpaste off faces and do hair.

Clothes shoes and book bags all ready the night before. First day back the children have to take a photo of something they did on holidays and talk about it after lunch so we get that organised and have a quick idea of what to say.
In the morning it's turned into a competition to get dressed, washed shoes on etc, helps with getting out of the door.

This is us next week, so I'm enjoying all the tips. I think I'm going to struggle more with the getting sorted in the morning than my daughter is (she's excited and ready to go!) - I'm on maternity leave so the summer holidays have been endless slow starts to the day which has been lovely, but it's going to be a shock to the system!

I'm thinking getting uniform laid out the night before will be a big one here, having checked the weather forecast to avoid 'my legs are cold' cries when she goes out in socks in the middle of winter - do they ever learn?!

Packed lunches (apart from sandwiches) packed up the night before. Shoes ready by the door. Uniform and bags organised the night before. These all help and some days we actually do them and the school run is a lot smoother!

Everything packed and ready the night before. In the morning get yourself ready first. Right down to the last detail. Then everything else is a bit more bearable.

sounds good to me

I have two boys - youngest just finished reception, eldest about to start year three. I make sure their stuff is colour coded. One has all blue accessories like water bottle, lunch bag, and blue name labels, the other has green. It made s big difference for youngest when he couldn't read as he recognised the colour labels. I also got them to cover their bottles with stickers so it was easy to recognise. The boys were also encouraged to immediately put socks in shoes the moment they took their shoes off (so far this has worked) as they don't lose socks and their shoes are easier to spot. Then like other posters, get as much ready the night before, immediately check they have everything at the end of school and deal with school letters the day you get them (dates in calendar, money and forms in envelope, random collection of junk bag for next random creative day) so you know you haven't forgotten anything. Check said calendar twice daily.
But it is inevitable that you will forget something, they will lose something, and it won't be the disaster you dread. They will manage, school will manage, and everything will be fine in the end. Just don't forget to pack lunch for school trips! 😉