Starting the school day, completely stress free

Most mornings in our house are chaotic, with having to wake up Bee and get her ready too. I am surprised my neighbours haven’t complained after hearing me constantly shout ‘HURRY UP!!!’

But it doesn’t always have to be this way! The following guest article gives mums some tips to try to keep the morning as calm as possible!

Think I need to implement some of these tips into our morning routine!!

Starting the School Day, Completely Stress-Free

Is there anything worse than dropping your kids off at school on a sore note? Ensuring you see big smiles as they wave goodbye in the playground is important to all parents, and for this to happen, a stress-free morning will help. But how do you do it? It’s not easy to keep mornings pleasant, easy and smooth sailing, but it is possible!

• Get everything ready for school the night before rather than in the morning. It will take less time and will mean that you have more time to do other things. Put everything into their school bag, update their homework diaries, prepare their lunches (or put their lunch money in their bag ready) – anything you can do in advance, do it.
• Put everything by the door ready to go. There’s nothing worse than rushing around the house trying to find your school shoes for girls from George, their school bags and their PE kits. Make sure that whatever they need in the morning is by the door, ready to go.
• Take the opportunity at the weekend to polish school shoes for girls and boys, rather than trying to cram the job into your morning routine.
• Lay out their uniform in their rooms, ready to go, the night before. From jumpers and skirts to socks and tights, make sure it’s all ready and waiting. Do the same for you as well, to save you rummaging through your wardrobe in the morning.
• Get up earlier than the kids do, so that you can get ready in peace. If you put your alarm on for that little bit earlier, you can enjoy a shower, a chance to put on make-up or, better still, a cup of tea!
• Know their calendars, because chances are, they’ll forget what they’re doing from day to day! Laminate your own chart, or use a calendar or iCal, to record what they do on each day. Drama on a Tuesday, recorder on a Thursday, swimming on a Friday? If you make a note of it all, you can make sure that the kit they need is ready to go. Keep an inbox for any school-related admin you need to work through, too.
• Do their homework and reading in plenty of time. Don’t leave it until the morning to get it done, even if you think you’ll have the time to. Chances are, you won’t. If they have a show and tell morning, or they have brought home the class mascot, make sure that everything is chosen and sorted before the morning arrives.
• Stick to a routine, no matter how loose it is, because if you don’t, the morning will likely fall apart. Encourage kids to do things in the same order every morning, so that they don’t forget anything.
• If you allow TV in the mornings, make sure that they are completely ready for school before it’s turned on. Otherwise, you won’t get any sense out of them and your chances of being late will rise.

Most importantly, stay calm. If your stress levels soar, chances are the kids will notice and will get all hot and bothered too – it’s just not worth the frayed tempers, especially not at that time in the morning!

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