Creating a morning routine with kids can be hectic, but if you wake up with a plan, you can conquer your mornings (and your day!)
Mornings can be incredibly stressful when you have kids to get ready, lunch to make, and work to plan for. A stressful, frustrating morning can have an impact on your whole day, and one day leads to another and your whole week is a mess.
It can seem like your morning is crazy from the moment you get out of bed, and while there is always so much to get done, with some planning, practice and a little bit of patience, you can create a morning routine that leads to a productive and happy day for you and the whole family.
Follow the below tips and advice on how to properly plan for your mornings to ensure they are as stress-free as possible, and that you are prepared for whatever the day throws at you.
Morning Routines With Small Children
Prepare The Night Before
Mornings are so much easier when you take the time to get things ready the night before.
There is quite a bit that you can prepare the night before, and doing this will save you a whole lot of time in the morning.
Some things to prepare the night before include:
- Packing lunches – Whether you or your kids pack lunches, make sure it is always done the night before. This way you are able to spend more time focusing on packing a proper lunch, instead of running short of time and packing unhealthy treats.
- Pick out clothes – Hang up clothes to wear the next day, or even set aside clothes for the whole week. Make sure there are enough socks and underwear for each day, so no time is spent rummaging for socks in the morning.
- Plan breakfast – If you know what you and the kids will be having for breakfast, there is no need to argue or search for breakfast in the morning. Have a breakfast plan set up for the week to ensure you know what everyone will be eating, and to ensure that the fridge and pantry are stocked up to accommodate for this.
- Pack bags – Make sure everyone packs their bags the night before to ensure that nobody leaves anything behind, or remembers that they have forgotten their homework book as you drive down the road.
Start With Good Sleep Routines
Your mood in the morning can be so influenced by the sleep you have the night before.
If you are well-rested, things just go a bit easier, but if you have a rough, broken sleep, you will be tired and groggy and not ready to take on the day.
Make sure that you and the rest of the family gets enough sleep and that everyone sticks to a regular sleeping schedule and that you stay consistent with your routine.
Stop the kids from using devices before bedtime, as this could be a cause of bad sleep, and set the mood for a night of restful sleep with fans, noise machines, or whatever else may help.
Planning a good morning routine starts before you wake up, you can make such a difference to your morning and daily mood with enough good sleep.
Stick To Your Routines
Your morning routine will be different to your toddlers and your teenage child, but it is important to ensure that everyone has their own routine, and sticks to it.
For younger children, it might be better to have a visual chart for them to follow in the morning.
Use stickers or ticks to help them check off everything in their list, including brushing teeth, getting dressed, and making their bed.
If everyone understands their own roles and routines in the morning, there will be less for you to worry about, and you can focus more on what you need to get done instead of running around after everyone else.
Have A Central Calendar
Make sure no surprise meetings or last-minute projects are jumping out at you in the morning by having a central calendar hung up in the house for everyone to use and take note of.
Make a habit of sitting together once a week as a family and discussing what you have coming up for the week, and then writing this down onto the calendar. This should include sports and other activities for after school as well.
Check the calendar each night and then again in the morning to make sure that you are not missing anything.
Keep It Fun And Light
Having a morning routine does not mean that everything needs to be over-planned and rigid, you can make your morning, and your days, so much happier by adding some fun into the morning.
There are a few ways you can do this:
- Play some songs in the morning to get the family going. Create a family playlist to have to sound around the house in the morning, and you could even get everyone to add their favorite song to the playlist as well.
- Make a habit of each person exchanging positive words. Speak about what you are all looking forward to in each day, and give words of encouragement. These can do wonders for you and your children’s day.
- Take time to connect, even if it is just for a minute. Hold hands during breakfast or give your children a tight squeeze in the morning.
Practice Morning Affirmations
It is so important to start the day off with positive and motivational thoughts, and it is a great habit to pass down to your children as well.
This could be in the form of repeating positive affirmations to yourself in the mirror, or just as you are brushing your teeth.
Get your children to practice positive affirmations as well, it could help calm fears and anxieties they might have, and instead give them self-confidence and assurance to have a great day.
Creating Your Perfect Morning Routine
Whether you have small kids or older teens, morning routines are so important to get your morning started right to ensure the rest of the day is productive and happy, for the whole family!
Real Morning Routines From Busy Moms
My girls go to toddler school 3 days a week. On those mornings, we are like a well-oiled machine, we wake up, brush teeth, get dressed for the day and enjoy breakfast together before heading out the door around 8.
On mornings they do not go to school, it’s a completely different morning. We take our time, stay in pajamas, usually read a big stack of books after breakfast and try to get in a morning walk around the neighborhood.
While I am all for consistency in routine, I see how much those slower days benefit my girls.
Oh it is night and day! Before having kids, I would wake up at 6 AM to hit the gym before work.
I had a few extra minutes between my post-work out shower and healthy pre-made breakfast to get some reading in.
Now, it’s completely different and I am absolutely ok with that. I’m woken up by a sweet little three year old, with wild curly bed head hair, poking me in the face, asking for breakfast. What more could a mama want? 🙂
My toddlers LOVE over night oats. My youngest loves to add a little brown sugar and raisins. My oldest loves a scoop pf peanut butter in hers.
Not only is it so easy to just pull the jars straight from the fridge in the morning, but the girls love helping put them together the night before.
There is no better way to save time (and sanity) in the morning than with prepping the night before.
Setting out clothes (as your toddler get older, letting them pick might help ward off morning battles of clothes they don’t like), prepping breakfast and lunches if needed, even prepping activities.
Just 15 minutes of work the night before can make your mornings go SO much smoother!
Once they are up I focus on getting breakfast ready and their lunches packed. Once my older child is on the bus, I either take my younger child to therapy or set him up with an activity depending on what’s going on that day.
At this time I sit down and have my breakfast and start checking in on emails.
And then usually I get a few blogging tasks done and then make lunch and start my cleaning for that day.
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