IKEA would like to hear your tips for making the weekday school routine as stress-free as possible

[AbbiCMumsnet]

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Getting your kids out of the door for the morning school run is not for the faint hearted. It’s a task that hardly ever goes to plan, with the potential for things to go wrong always lurking around the corner. With this in mind, IKEA would love to know hear your advice on how you make the weekday school routine as stress-free as possible, and any hacks you might have to make your life easier.

Here’s what IKEA have to say:
“A key way to keeping morning madness to a minimum is involving everyone in the home. When your home is set up so that your little ones don’t need constant help, everyone’s a winner. Put dinnerware and food in places your children can easily reach so they can set the table while you focus on making breakfast. A light step stool can help in the kitchen and bathroom.
In the bedroom, our STUVA range is designed from the ground up ensuring interiors are all easily reachable by little hands, with most parts being adjustable, meaning the furniture can grow your child. But one of the best places to keep well organised is the hallway. A bench with hidden storage will work wonders, just pop their bags inside and add a coat rack at their height nearby to give them a one stop shop before leaving each morning.”

Have you established an efficient system to get your kids out of the door on time? How do you deal with unexpected obstacles that get in your path when trying to leave? Do you prepare meticulously the night before, or do you wing it in the morning and hope for the best - maybe the latter works best for you!

All who share their tips on avoiding the stress of the weekday school run will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win £300 in IKEA vouchers.
Thanks and good luck

MNHQ
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Breakfast on the go! Nutritious wraps filled with cooked spinach avocado tomato egg - whatever you fancy!

Preparation is key!

I/we mostly me spend Sunday sorting out uniform for each day of the week and putting them on their hangers. Underwear and socks are always accessible so DS can get himself dressed.
Shoes are always removed upon entering the home and put into the shoe cabinet and coats hung up.
Il be the one to make everyone's breakfast and drinks and dp will sort out any last minute things that have been forgotten or need doing.
It usually works well and we get to school on time/early.

We prepare everything the night before

I like to have everything ready at night time, put the cereal on table and uniform at bottom of beds, only thing I have to do is the packed lunches as my kids hate the sandwiches the night before in fridge as too cold in there teeth 🙈 my routine is wake up and get dressed then brush teeth have a wash then downstairs for breakfast 🥞

I make sure packed lunches are made the night before and clothes are all laid out ready. Shoes and book bags by the door and then the morning is much less stressful!

Sign and return any paperwork as soon as you see it.
Write all dates for plays, matches, carol concerts etc on a calendar as soon as you are aware of them.
Get DC's clothes ready the night before, and make up any packed lunches too.

We have a little tail with hooks (from Ikea actually!) which has been fitted to the side of the cupboard in our utility so the kids can hang up their coats. A wire basket rack for their wellies and shoes and a basket by the door for hats and gloves.

Still desperately trying to get better organised with the toys!

Our home is almost fully kitted out with ikea products! Life savers indeed! Having 4 kids in confined spaces storage and multi use furniture is a must. Each 1 has there dedicated space that houses school items and uniforms. Breakfast is informal and i make sure there is something that each 1 enjoys.

Setting the alarms in the house and on mobile phones at least 5 min ahead also saves a bit of stress!

It begins when they get home from school, bags emptied, empty lunchboxes in sink, shoes to one side of the stairs. Teatime meals become next day lunches with a twist (like a new name & a bit of cheese). There are multiple health problems that cause all kinds of delays in the morning, we constantly juggling variables and order & organisation help but it's a sense of humour that gets us through. We could do it loads better and hope to but all things considered we do ok.

get them their own alarm clock when old enough.start to get them feeling a bit more responsible for the time they get up.
coloured bowl and cup from ikea for each of their breakfast so its easier to set out and also makes them a bit more enthused to get their own things out.
nagging.
lots more nagging
have uniform out and ready the night before and bags packed.
anything you can do for lunch do.so if you have a packed lunch ge tthe non fridge items put in the pack.
try and get up before them to give yourelf five minutes and get thing set up.
make a routine.repeating it then becomes the norm and easier.
shoes are by the door and coats and bags all in one place.
remember be kind to yourself.some days will be better than others.some days they will refuse everything.and be completely stroppy little things that are tired grumpy and want to just refuse it all!
try distracting.keep them moving.limit screens.

As much as I can is done the night before.
We all have our own peg (like at school) for our coats, bags, shoes.
I have a planner next to our pegs so I can write parties and other things on so we all know what we are doing. It works most of the time

I'm not a mum,but a teacher. We go through routines 5 times a day on the hour to pack kids away for their nxt lesson. I find just like a tidy house, a tidy classroom with clear walkways and everything in it's place helps massively. The kids know where everything goes and packing away runs smoothly!

To have everything organised the night before and minimum running around last minute or in the morning. The same pattern helps establish a solid routine too.

Not so much of an issue now but I used to:

Before start of school year-
Buy supply of pens, pencils, paper,ink
Have £50 of £1 coins for school fundraising (their notice period was shockingly short)
Envelopes
Uniform, shoes, bags Yadda Yadda Yadda

At the start of the week (Sunday)

Check timetable
Get cooking tins/ingredients etc bagged up (if possible and stored in the hallway cupboard)
Sports kit/swimming kits ready to grab
Lunches part of meal plan (can prepare some sandwiches and keep them in the freezer)
Clean shoes
Pack bags ready
Iron uniforms for week and hang them in sets (trousers, shirt, jumper on one hanger)

Daily

Homework,
Dirty uniform in wash
Letters filled out, money in envelope ( or paid online). Dates set in reminders in phone with 24hr reminder, photo of letter taken on phone.
Check for keys, bus pass etc..

My DCs have a firm routine as they are forgetful!
School bags are packed the night before- I keep a copy of their timetable on my kitchen notice board which is magnetic and means I can add to it as and when. If it's a PE day, they both have School drawers in their rooms so they grab their kit from there.
The school drawer helps them not to lose ties and maths sets which can be a pain to replace and costly too (ties are £5.50 each at our school).
Packed lunches are also sorted the night before- I have boxes with yoghurt pouches, snack bars and sausage rolls etc and they pretty much choose their own now.
They're up same time every morning, and they automatically get on with having breakfast, getting dressed and they're out the door. It's so much less stress if everything is ready in advance.

Make the child as responsible for themselves as you can - according to their age and ability.

When my son was 10 I drew up a contract with him (which he reluctantly signed) which meant he had to be up, dressed and ready for breakfast by a certain time, otherwise computer games privileges etc would be withdrawn. By golly that worked....

Mine are at High school now, but we still do roughly the same as we always have - but they need less chivvying from me!
As soon as they come in. it's uniform off and anything that needs washing into the linen basket. Water bottle washed out and filled and in the fridge for the next day. Shoes off and in the hall, plus school coat. Uniform/PE kit ready for the next day. Check for school letters and write dates etc on calendar and my diary. Check planner for homework deadlines etc.
In the morning I'm always up very early, have my shower first and get ready and make sure they get up in plenty of time. Planning ahead and allowing plenty of time to not be rushed is the key I think.

The biggest tip I have, don’t stress, don’t think about it, just get up and do it. Even if you over sleep or something unexpected happens the moment you lose focus you will magically lose ten minutes and definitely be late. Do allow an extra ten minutes in your schedule already though for last minute issues-tantrums, toilet issues, squabbling or a lost toy/book. And if you go without something big deal, it can always be sorted.
All of the above are great, standard stuff and will help you every day. However sometimes life falls apart with an unexpected phone call one night, a family drama, trauma, late night illness etc and in those cases relax.

I unpack and repack the school bags as soon as we get home so only have to put the drinks bottle and snack back in the morning, they then sit on the unit by the door. Also settle them with breakfast then get all the clothes ready to go, stick to the routine and timings!

Now that she's in high school organisation is key. Roomy desk, lots of drawers and compartments and storage boxes for all her stationary and books and homework.

I set the house up so that everyone can do the majority of things for themselves, and I am clear about what is their responsibility and what is mine.

Clothes all at accessible heights, and an expectation that kids get their own clothes out and dress themselves, bringing any difficult bits to me for help (eg tight socks, fiddly buttons etc).

Breakfast foods stored together in a low down deep drawer. Cereals in the plastic pouring tubs, raisins/dried fruit in glass jars, jam/honey/Nutella and vitamins are all in that one drawer. Yogurts and a jug of milk the 4 year old can manage are on a low shelf in the fridge. Kids cutlery/crockery/glasses also in one accessible drawer. Each child makes their own breakfast, with the older ones making toast for the younger ones if needed.

Packed lunches are fine if the kids make them themselves, otherwise they have school dinners. The boxes/bags etc are in an accessible cupboard, as are packed lunch foods like crisps and cereal bars. I will help if asked, but if they want a packed lunch then they drive the process, knowing that they can opt for a school lunch if they don't want to make a packed lunch.

The hall cupboard has a shelf for each person, and (should) have hats/scarves/gloves/waterproof coats/trousers and school bags in it. Coats on a hook near the door. They pack their own bags.

My responsibilities in the morning are mainly to get myself ready, while giving time updates on how long left until we go! They do things in the order they want to do them, knowing that when the time is up I will want to go. One child has gone to school in their pjs on one occasion! It didn't happen again.

Reading that back it all sounds a bit draconian for primary kids, but it works. When I did things for them it became a shouting match when I did things in the wrong way/order/didn't know which water bottle was the current favourite. Making them responsible for it, with an open offer of help of course, means less shouting (and they all get the water bottles they want!).

It's not rocket science but laying everything out the night before (yes on a hall bench) is the best thing to do. Whenever we dont do it we curse because that's always when you realise you need some extra kit or there isnt a clean cardigan or some other school related problem!

They know the routine, up for 7, drink then breakfast at 7.30, dressed for 8, out of the door at 8.30 (not on the dot but there or thereabouts).

I use my google assistant to tell me what I need if it's out of the ordinary at 8am - just in case (school trip money, or the week before if it's a themed day at school), I use my calendar too for OOSH clubs and training days over and above the term dates.

Being on time is a life skill to teach our children for their future.

Teen is very visual. Each year I get him to lay out everything he needs for school (now 6th form) each morning and take a picture of it on his phone so he can instantly check he hasn't forgotten something. Works like a dream!

Empty all bags as soon as you get in from school and deal with anything you need to then and there.