School Morning Routines

I have been working with a parent this week who was finding getting out for school in the morning increasingly stressful with her three young children.  If you are having the same problem you may want to consider changing your morning routine as she has. This routine is suitable for children up to around 10 or 11 as they get older they need to be responsible more for themselves and can use alarm clocks and have a less structured routine.

I know when my son was young I had to make sure I had plenty of time in the mornings as he would get very stressed if he was rushed, woken up late or did not have some time to watch the TV or play before school.  To get some more time for everyone in the morning I decided to wake everyone half an hour earlier,  it worked so well you might like to try it....

Consider this routine although if you want to cross over the breakfast with getting dressed you can and adapt it to your time scales.  Make each day the same so that you all settle into a regular routine and it becomes second nature.

6.45

Time for you to get up

Or even earlier if you need or want to as the more time you have before they get up the easier it is for everyone if you are ready for action when they get up.

7.05

Children’s Wake Up Call

Go into their bedroom and say good morning it’s time to wake up and remind them they have to be up by 7.15 or in 10 minutes.  (My son always needed some wake up time in bed and if I just went back once or twice to say time to get up he would come round in his own time,)  You can take them a morning drink and leave it on the bedside table for them to encourage them to wake up)

7.15 

Time to get up

Go into their bedroom, open curtains or switch the light on and say morning time to get up now. If you get a lot of moaning just give some empathy, for example, yes its hard getting up when you want to sleep, or acknowledge that you know how they feel.

7.15-7.45

Free time

You can use this time to come round and wake up, it is nice to meet up in the living room and have a drink together and spend 10 minutes with them watching the TV or playing and talking. You can then get on with making the breakfast.

7.45

Get dressed and washed and brush their hair

If this is likely to take longer, then you can start at 7.40, it would be helpful if you were ready to supervise this and had all your attention on helping them, depending on their age and ability.

8.00

Breakfast, everyone come to the table to eat.

8.10

Clean teeth collect things ready for the day

8.20

Time to leave

Can you see how there is plenty of time to get ready for the morning and by adding some play/TV time you have some extra time if they are running late as happens from time to time.  Be a little flexible about the times a few minutes either way is not going to hurt as long as you are out of the door on time.

Don't forget to work as a team,  for example delegate sandwich making to your hubby or partner.

The night before is the time to do homework and get clothes and kit ready for school clean shoes and find all the socks and ties that can make you run late in the morning.

Remember to praise, praise, praise each time they do as they are asked and use rewards like sticker charts to encourage more good behaviour.

You must let everyone know about your new morning routine before you start, make it into a positive thing and write out the routine and post it on the fridge door or somewhere everyone can see.

If you like this info and would like more why not join me on the Parent's Guide to Children's Behaviour online or group courses. New dates are out now to hurry to secure your place http://bit.ly/CDBCOURSE 

Let me know what you think and how you get on.

All the best

Ruth

How to settle your child into their new school happily!

If you are dreading the new school term because your little darling is starting school or nursery, worry no more. There are some great ways that you can help your child to settle in as easy as possible that will help to relieve your anxiety and your child’s stress. Whether or not you have prepared your child really well in advance, that first day always seems to come quicker than you thought and no matter what, you can never be totally sure of their reactions on the day. You can however be ready to handle any crying or upset to ease them into school the best you can, by having a ‘Goodbye Routine’. Before you make a plan of your routine, you really need to find out the schools policy on arrivals, as some children gather in the playground and some go into their classroom. If however you don’t know on the day just ask at the school office or your child’s teacher will tell you. These tried and tested tips will help you to make the transition easier for you and your child and settle them in the fastest easiest way you can.


1 Arrive in plenty of time and allow yourself time to settle your child into the playground or classroom as rushing around although unavoidable sometimes is not very helpful on their first day and can add to stress levels. Help them to hang up their coat and put their belongings away, if possible, although you may have to wave them off in the playground or at the door.

2 Say hello to their teacher and encourage your child to do the same, this will help your child to connect with another adult and help them to feel more secure. It is also important to gain acknowledgement that you have passed your child’s care over to the relevant person. In a few weeks or days, once your child has settled in and they are more confident, you will find that they will probably just go off to play with their friends instead when they arrive.

3 Do what everyone else does and if the other children are all sitting on the carpet waiting for the teacher or at their desks, encourage your child to do the same. If you are allowed into the cloakroom, help your child to take their coat off and hang it up, as all those pegs can be very daunting.

4 Say goodbye, give them a kiss a positive smile and leave quickly when it is time to leave, because if you stay should they cry you will accidentally reward the behaviour and they will soon realise the easy way to get to prolong your departure. I have settled hundreds of children into nursery or school (not all my own I must say) and have found that it is always best tell your child as opposed to sneaking off when they are not looking. That’s not to say that they won’t cry, but they will trust you more and learn the routine much easier and be more confident faster.

5 Pass them to a member of staff if they start to cry and don’t be afraid to ring the school in half an hour or so to ask if they have settled down. You can ring the school office to ask them to check with the teacher as there is no point you worrying all day when you can have your mind put at ease. You would be surprised how many parent’s do this, so don’t suffer and ruin your day, especially when your child is likely to have settled and be having a great time.

If you would like more information like this and ideas of how to cope with the first few weeks and staying involved with your child’s progress please stay tuned to my blog!