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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Single full-time working mum, so for me it had to be total organisation - definitely no winging it.

A place for everything - so storage was really important.

Keys always on the key hook, handbag always on the cabinet by the keys, DCs school bags loaded up the night before and ready to go by the front door. Lunches made and ready to grab in the fridge. PE kit washed & dried the night it came home and re-packed so it was ready to go. School clothes laid out on the chair at the end of their beds.

It was a finely honed system!

They're pretty much grown up now, so I can leave them to their own devices, but I still like good storage and to know exactly where everything is. I genuinely don't know how people who don't do that function!

Bags are packed the night before. Shoes are always in the same place. Lunch is nearly ready too. Much less to do in the morning, so much easier to get out quickly!

We try to keep to a semi-strict schedule. I have a written morning routine and the kids are well-versed in it! A Gro-clock helps us get up at the right time, then while the kids are having breakfast, I sort bags and clothes. Keeping the TV and iPad off helps too!

Am I the only one that doesn't get all family members to get everything ready the night before? Both of us work full time and all kids are in wrap around care so we have a quick turn around at either end of the day. I'm too shattered to make packed lunches the night before!!

My tips:
Give children independence- if they forget something, they need to sort it (of course we will help if needed) They sort their washing and make their own packed lunches alongside us as we make ours (all kids in primary)

Communication is key- everything goes onto the wall calendar and Google calendar and then gets written up weekly on the weekly calendar in kitchen so we can't miss it- right down to who is collecting the kids on what days and key dates on school newsletters. All phones are synced up!

Everything has its place and is big enough for everything- we have enough shoe storage in one place for every pair of shoes we own. We have designated places for school bags and swimming kids + once it's used, washed and dried it goes back on the bag on the peg so it can be grabbed ready for next use. We frequently sort through our stuff to minimise clutter that we don't use or need.

Routine is key, reminders on phone are a good send and always allow extra time-
Don't get upset or stressed if things don't work out, life happens and nobody is perfect!

Like many others, prep the night before - so choice of clothes for school to minimise dithering in the morning

We lay the uniform out the night before with the towel ready to go for the morning shower. School bag/PE or Swimming kit as well as sandwich boxes are laid out ready with everything but the sandwiches done. When ds gets up it is straight into the shower with his towel, he has been independent since 6. He gets himself ready while I finish the pack lunch and have his breakfast ready. If he is quick enough there is time for a hobbit breakfast. This all is done timely, the bane of the timing game is when he goes up to brush his teeth, this takes forever though the dentist is super happy with his teeth I am shouting up for him to hurry and finish after 10-15 minutes of happy brushing! We get to school between 15-5 minutes before start all depending on the happy brushing.

For me it is having all the shirt ironed for the week on Sunday, that way I am not rushing to find a clean shirt and get it ironed in the morning. I am big on being organised the night before.

Routine all the way. Everything out the night before including my clothes for work as well as theirs. Packed lunches made, book bags ready etc.

Keep everything downstairs, so uniform in a unit in the hall, bags on a low peg by the door, even a second toothbrush in the downstairs bathroom. It means once everyone is downstairs there's no running back up and down to find things.

We get clothes ready, have a simple breakfast and give my child time limits (get dressed by 8, have breakfast by quarter past etc)

We’ve made a school kit station out of ikea furniture, it’s in our hallway and each child has a peg for their coat, a cubbie for their book bag and sports bag and a place on the shoe rack for their boots/trainers. We’ve personalised them with wooden letters for each child’s name so they know where to put their things when they come in from school. It’s easy for us to repack and empty bags once they’ve gone to bed and ensure that everything is in the right location for the next day. Thank goodness for ikea!!!

Hmmm given the general consensus that routine and night-before preparation are the best way to tackle the morning stress, I don’t think it matters how much ikea furniture I buy, I will never have an easy sail out of the house in the morning.

For others who are just a disaster zone like me, don’t worry about your children inheriting your poor planning and adherence to routine; they will probably hate your way of doing it so much that they take control of their own morning routine as soon as possible.

Whether you do it the night before or not, having a set place to leave keys and coat and bag makes it easier to get ready quickly in the morning too.

We are not morning people in this house therefore night before preparation is essential!

Packed lunches made night before
Shoes/bags always kept in the same place
No devices until ready to leave the house
Sports/swimming kit always put straight back into kit bags once laundered
Uniform kept in dedicated section of wardrobe
My own wardrobe also sorted into work/casual etc to save time

It's a daily struggle!!

Do as much as possible the night before. Bags all ready and lunch already made and in the fridge.
Also use a calendar. Put it up on the wall where everyone can see and write down what is happening each day.

We have a poster on the wall that DS wrote and drew, it has a picture of a clock with a start time and end time, and a list of the tasks that need to be done. If something isn’t quite working then he makes another poster. It just seems to take the heat out of the routine: if there is too much messing around going on then we consult it and it’s there in black and white what we should be doing and because he has written it, he’s more willing to stick to it than if I was standing there shouting the same thing 15 times.

For us storage is key, especially with things like the expedit units. They have different colours each. To house clothes, shoes, uniform. There is another set downstairs for bags, and with storage boxes on top for books so they can pack their own bags. They've had this set up for many years - as a single parent to two boys, I needed them to be organised and ready for me to get to work on time

Everything obsessively laid out the night before in order! Every single thing down to the portion of cereal and the favourite spoon.

Make sure gadgets are off and the kids get enough sleep. Healthy breakfasts, fresh air on the walk to school.

I try to get up ten minutes before my dc. It's amazing how much you can get done in ten minutes with no kids running around!

Also have a digital clock and give them a time in which to do everything...so, you need to be dressed by 8.10 for example.

We always have uniforms out the night before, bag packed and lunch made etc.
Something always goes wrong at the last minute though- usually I can’t find the hair brush!

We have a park right by school. So their options are

A) dawdle whilst I yell “SHOES!” For the trillionth time
B) get ready quickly and have the park all to themselves

Funnily enough, they choose B) 9/10 times

Preparation is the best way to ensure a hiccup free morning. My son is showered before bed and washed with a warm flannel in the morning.
I’ll have all clothing washed, dried and ready the night before.
Homework and PE kit ready, in book bag and kit bag, at the front door to pick up on our way out.
Breakfast will be something quick and easy ie toast and mashed banana or cereal then it’s teeth brushed, warm flannel and hair brushed before we leave for the 15 minute walk to school.
This routine works well for us.

Mostly I leave before 7am so I don't have to do mornings 😬

On the days it is my turn I wake the teens at 6:30am, reminder at 6:45 and final at 7

If they are not ready to leave at 7:30 they lose their phones that evening -this has been the most effective method of getting them to concentrate

If they have PE/cooking etc it is their responsibility to get it ready and if they don't have it by the time we leave they don't have it and have to face the consequences - again very effective way to get them to sort their own stuff out

The only one I actively help is the youngest (8) who I wake at 7. I get his clothes out while he cleans his teeth and washes. He then gets dressed while I make his lunch and leave both of our bags by the front door. He comes downstairs and watches YouTube til 7:30 (he has breakfast at childminders)

I think putting everything away in the right place after school has the biggest impact on the following morning and anything that needs signing is done then and straight back into bags

We do a pile of clothes for each of the 4 DC the night before, including underwear and socks.
Tub of shoes right by the front door, so they're not hunting for them.
All necessary bags, kit, folders and instruments by the door the night before.
Kids grab their own morning break from a dedicated snack drawer, so no arguing about not liking something.
My DH and I share an family diary on our phones, but generally it's just me in the mornings. If I'm having a particularly 'foggy headed' day and something majorly off routine is happening, I stick a post it at eye level inside the front door! Not the most sophisticated methods and I certainly could do we an Ikea storage overhaul in the entire house, but it works.