Send your kids off to school happy and prepared for the day (not always as easy as it sounds)
There's nothing worse than beginning the day with complete chaos. A child who can't find their sock, another child who hasn't got a clean p.e kit and you who ends up going to work 20 minutes late with a bed head of wild hair and not even a sip of coffee to wake you up.
It's important to get yourself and your children into a morning routine to ensure your house is a stree-free environment and you all arrive at school and work on time. We've come up with 5 tips that might make your mornings a little easier.
1. Plan the night before - Planning what clothes you're goin to wear in the morning might save you 5 minutes of staring blankly into your wardrobe, hoping something will jump out and appear on your body looking fabulous. Do the same for the kids and lay out their clothes ready for them to whack on. Planning lunchboxes the night before can also be helpful and save you time wrestling in the crisp cupboard to find that last pack of skips for your childs lunch.
2. Know the school routine - Make sure you know what days your children have swimming, p.e, show and tell day etc. By getting into a routine of knowing this you can plan the night before which clothes need to be ready for the morning. If your child has homework on a certain day, make sure it's done the night before so they're not spending time scribbling instead of eating breakfast.
3. Take care of yourself - Particularly this time of year, there's absolutley nothing worse than having to drag yourself out of bed in the morning. But doing so 10 minutes before the children will give you time to get up, clear your head and get a head start on getting ready for the day. Sometimes your younger children might need help getting dressed or need an extra push getting out of bed so if you're up and half ready, you won't be so stressed aboutt spending that little bit of time helping them.
4. Have a routine - If you're children are older and all of a sudden your son takes 20 minutes in the bathroom every morning gelling his hair, arrange some sort of morning routine. Have 1 child in the bathroom while the other is getting dressed to avoid petty teenage arguments. They might leave at different times so help them formulate a plan where they both get ready and leave on time.
5. Relax - Much easily said than done but if you start the day by telling your kids 10 times they need to get dressed, chances are they won't do it. Relax and spend time with them in a morning helping them get ready calmly and if you've prepared the night before, then pack their bag and off they go. Take a chill and after getting into a steady routine, children will grow up and learn to do it on their own!
Alexandra Baracskai