All moms know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Unfortunately, mornings can also be rough with getting kids out of bed, dressed, fed a healthy breakfast, and arriving at school on time. Without organization mornings can be can be slow and sometimes frustrating. What’s the best way to avoid the morning stress with kids? A successful morning routine
As a mother of an eight-year-old, my morning routine is most successful with an early bedtime. I always make sure his uniform is ironed and laid out the night before. I do my best to stay on time and make sure my morning menu is simple and effective. Believe it or not, these four steps can be very helpful to ending the morning meltdowns and making your day go smooth.
Here are four easy ways to simplify your Kids morning routine:
1. Have your kid’s clothes ready the night before school. Once your kids wake up, the clock starts ticking. You will save quality time and minimize arguments with having the clothes ready. It is an important step for establishing a routine and staying on track.
2. Plan your breakfast menu. Doctors always praise breakfast as your most important meal of the day. According to the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a good breakfast is necessary to a child performing well in school. Eating a healthy breakfast with protein lowers the levels of anxiety and depression and most importantly helps increases the level of concentration in class.
3. Chart your routine. As parents, it’s so easy to give commands and get frustrated when your child does not respond back to you in a timely manner. Sometimes you have to be creative and find a new approach to establishing order and obedience. Once you have your morning routine established to make sure to make it visible on a chart or on the refrigerator and continue to follow it.
4. Reward with praise. Identifying good behavior yields great results. When a child successfully completes a task it is a great idea to reward and offer lots of praise. For example, using the “when…then” approach is great to diffuse power struggles and a great technique that highlights independence for the child to make good choices. “WHEN you get yourself dressed, THEN you can watch TV for 30 minutes.” Also, don’t forget to make it a celebration for accomplishing this task.
Continue to offer daily encouragement to help your child become autonomous. Remember practice makes perfect and before you know it mornings will be much simpler and fun.
Guest Post: Shavonda Miles
Shavonda is an Atlanta native and Corporate Communications Operator for Time Warner. Outside the fast – paced news environment, she is a freelance writer for the www.thevoix.com curating narratives of diverse and multicultural individuals who empower their community with a global message. Along with mentoring young students with learning literacy with VIPKID, she enjoys being a member of Junior League of Atlanta connecting with women who promote philanthropy improving the community all over Atlanta. She enjoys volunteering, traveling, running, and of course spending time with her son. Inspired by strong women of leadership, she is excited to share her stories and connect with other mothers living in Atlanta.
Great advice for us moms.