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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Definitely sorting out stuff the night before. Love the idea of paperwork for and from school going in a polypocket!

Everything has to have a place and be returned there. Letters dealt with immediately, bags packed night before.

Hook in the hallway for each child with book bag and coat on it.
Getting kit ready the night before for activities like dance and Brownies.
Encouraging kids from a young age to dress themselves and make their own breakfast.
And coffee. Lots of coffee.

Routine and getting as much ready as possible the night before.

If they know what to expect and what happens next (e.g. we eat breakfast then brush our teeth) then they're less shocked and more inclined to go along with it rather than having a meltdown (in my experience away).

We put everything out ready the night before. Clothes, bags etc... lunches are made at the same time as the evening meal and put in the fridge ready to grab and go. Both boys (1 and 3) know the morning routine and the 3 year old knows where his and his brothers clothes are and gets himself dressed. He also knows when it is 7 on the clock it means we need to get a move on so we are in the car when mummy's alarm goes off on her phone at 20 past.

We just re-did our hall and put in a wall of wardrobes (from the PAX range) which has been nothing short of life changing!! Before we had a basket for gloves, another for scarves, piles of shoes etc and now everyone has their own wardrobe with shoes, coats, bags, drawers with gloves, hats etc. Nothing gets left about as they know that they come in the door and all their clobber goes straight into their spot.

Everything sorted the night before.

I get up with enough time to get myself showered and dressed before waking the dcs, just means less stress all round.

Have an official "everyone put your shoes on, it's time to go" time that is 10 minutes before the time we actually need to leave the house. This means we leave the house on time.

Having a routine that everyone knows and mostly sticks to helps loads. Although it still baffles me that my seven year old looks surprised when I end up yelling because I've asked her three times to clean her teeth/brush her hair/put her shoes on - it's not like she does those things every day or anything.

Organisation is so important. I get everything ready the night before and get up extra early on week days so that we don’t have to rush.
Having good storage really helps so you know exactly where everything is.
Having said all that, it’s still a mad panic for the last five minutes as dd will forget something or there’ll be a hold up on the way. Still, I think we’re pretty organised!

Everything needs to be ready the night before.

Also, everybody needs to be up and out of bed early enough, giving plenty of time to get ready without having to rush. Also means that they need to be in bed at an appropriate time the night before, so that they're not overtired and actually get their arse in gear.

The key is to get everything ready the night before and then have a routine. DH gives DC breakfast and dresses DS then leaves for work while I get myself and DD ready. We're still usually late though. I am terrible in the morning. I need to get better organised. We are renovating our house so I'm hoping when it's all done we will all be magically more organised

Have a noticeboard/ pinboard with all the school info on - timetables, letters, significant dates and events etc.

Ideally have a section for each day of the week. That way a glance at the board shows what's going on that day

Bribery! I get mine up 29 mins early and as soon as they are ready they can watch TV until its time to go.its amazing how quickly they can be ready

I admire everyone who gets things done the night before but I seem to get less efficient as the day wears on, and I’m barely holding it together at bedtime.

I’m chronically disorganized but we manage to have quite lovely mornings.

We get up early - an hour and a half before school starts, so we have plenty of time. We eat a reasonably healthy breakfast together, and when dh goes to work in a flurry of hugs that is the signal for the kids to get dressed. I’m perpetually confused about which days are which for uniforms/pe kits/swimming/dancing so the dc have been correcting me since the age of 5 and are pretty self sufficient . I helped them to dress long past the point where they were technically able to do it themselves, because I preferred a stress free, pleasant morning to shouting and nagging unwilling children into their clothes. They’ve outgrown my help now, though they still need odd bits of help like with collar buttons and finding shoes.
I make lunches and pop them into bags but it’s their responsibility to check over their bags and make sure everything is correct. At least twice a week I’ve sleepily switched drinks bottles or lunches so they don’t rely on me at all. Homework is packed away as soon as it’s done so its just a quick check.
Hair, sunblock, teeth, gloves, coats etc is a bit of a flurry, with an eye on the clock. As they’ve got older they’ve got more concerned about being late so now they chivvy me along instead of the other way round. But because we’re up early there is time for a bit of day dreaming, urgent lego builds and searches for missing teddies and all the terribly important morning missions that they think up.
Unless the weather is wicked, or someone is injured, we walk to school and chat along the way.
I decided when they were pre schoolers that I didn’t want to waste the mornings rushing and stressing and being grumpy with them, so giving ourselves a generous amount of time is my best tip.
I’d love to be a super organized, ultra reliable sort of mum but I can see them developing great skills to compensate.

The children have their own little routines to stick to and are rewarded with stars on their charts on the fridge . More stars they get the bigger treat at the end of the month.

Seems obvious, but preparation is the key; I make sure that most items are ready the night before.

Being very organised the night before! Having a good routine for the kids to follow!

Routine! Get all possible things prepared overnight and keep bedtime routine the same

I spend a bit of time the night before making packed lunches, checking school bags and laying out clothes. Saves the stress in the mornings.

I make sure bags and lunches are ready the night before making the morning stress free

I like to make sure, uniforms, lunches and snacks are all made the night before so there's less to do in the morning

Make sure you give yourselves enough time by setting an alarm and getting up when it rings. Don't give options for breakfast, and make sure everyone helps with the setting up and clearing away. Make sure that children know that there isn't time to do everything before school, but let them know you will be there at the end of the day to play. Chat about their day over breakfast so that they are reminded about any unusual requests for things they need for school that have been forgotten.

Get as much ready as possible the night before. Packed lunches, including sandwiches in the fridge, can be prepared in advance. School bags ready with the correct books etc. Clothes and shoes out and ready to put on....

Plan. Prepare. And get them on your side for the great rush. Luckily we had local schools and they had friends they could walk with. But preparing everything the night before always helps. And listen to what they say. They know what they need!

It’s like a military operation in our house. Books, PE kit, Forest School clothes all sorted the night before, in the morning hubby makes breakfast and packed lunches while I run a bath for DD. Leave home at 07:30 for a 10 mile drive to school and then I have another 20 miles to work, if we are more than 5 mins late, it means me sitting in traffic and being late. I then leave work at 3:00 to do it all again!