10 of the Best Tips for Your Morning Routine for School

Here’s what Mykidstime Blog recommends:

#1. Lay Out Everything The Night Before

Lisa says “I lay out my 4 kids’ clothes, shoes, coats, hats etc the night before. Breakfast table set for the morning. Lunches done the night before and in the fridge. Bags beside the door. It’s all about prep. No one is running around looking for anything. Everyone has to be washed and dressed before coming to breakfast. It’s getting everyone in the car that’s madness…fighting over who sits where!!!”

So next Randy shared her tip for kids fighting in the car: “I got a calendar and they took turns each week. Worked like a charm. They only had to check the calendar to see whose turn it was.”

Jennifer agrees that preparation really is half the battle. She also says that in their car, everyone has “fixed seats & they have to sit there.”

#2. Make Lunch in Advance

Donna advises “Make as much of the lunch as possible the night before. I usually only need to make his sandwich in the morning and throw everything in his lunch box then.”

I actually make everything the night before, I just found it was too rushed in the morning and if I put the lunchbox in the fridge overnight everything is nice and chilled too.

#3. Have Everything in the Same Place

Lots of time can be spent finding things in the morning so if you can have everything in the same place, that saves a heap of time.

Donna also gives these tips:

have the backpack hanging on the handle of the front door
put their jacket near their backpack
always place shoes in the same spot when they are taken off so your child knows where to find them in the morning.
Vikki agrees “have all backpacks/coats/shoes in one spot so they are easy to find”.

#4. Earlier to Bed on School Nights

A few parents mentioned getting kids to bed earlier on school nights helps them being too tired (and grumpy) in the mornings.

Patricia says “Definitely get them to bed early! If they are too tired in the morning then it’s earlier to bed that night. They have learned to appreciate a good night’s rest.”

#5. Have The Little Things Ready too

Nicola advises to “literally lay everything out, down to the hair bobbles” so that you are not frantically searching for them.

Linda suggests marking everyone’s clothes so that each child puts on their own clothes and isn’t tempted to pinch others. She also says that they survived school days through “good planning on the white board where all the info was displayed.”

#6. Allow Time If Kids are Taking the Bus

Linda points out that it does help if you stay within walking distance from the school but when your kids need to take buses then work out the timings so no one is rushing out in danger of missing the bus.

#7. Routines Do Work

Lots of parents swear by routines.

Aoife says that in their house everyone has to be “dressed and beds made before we go downstairs for breakfast – clockwork routine and no one (especially me!) gets stressed!

Kay says that if her kids are “up, have had breakfast, brushed their teeth uniforms on, then they get to have 30 mins tv time”

Rachel tries to make sure her kids are dressed before they go downstairs as well “too many mornings spent frantically trying to find shoes etc when we’re supposed to already be in the car!!!”

Donna makes it a “race”. E.g. “I bet you can’t get dressed before I count to 20.” or “I bet you can’t get your shoes on before me”. She also tells her son “10 minutes til you have to get dressed” “5 minutes and it’s shoes on” “10 minutes til we leave” as she finds the advanced warning and repetition works for them.

Racquel is also a big routine fan. She likes to prep lunches and uniforms the night before and in her house they have a “No devices or tv in morning” rule.

#8. Prep Breakfast

Valahrae suggests that “you can make french toast, mini pancakes or breakfast burritos ahead of time and put in freezer. It cuts down on prep time and gives you more time to enjoy them before they head out for the day.”

#9. Allow Extra Time

In our house, we set our alarm very early firstly to allow some snooze time before we get up and secondly for extra time so things are not rushed. I also really like to enjoy my cup of coffee for a few peaceful minutes before the final getting-everyone-out-the-door scramble starts.

Diana advises “get up at least an hour before you need to leave” so you aren’t rushed.

#10. Have Your Coffee Ready to Go

And, finally, being a coffee drinker myself, one I definitely agree with wholeheartedly is to have your coffee ready. Marc, Lisa and Donna say they need to have coffee ready to survive the morning rush. So have the coffee ready to make/filter/pour when you need that caffeine!

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