Screaming, chasing, temper tantrums, spills, and unfinished cups of coffee. Mornings are just no fun. Looking to find some semblance of peace and a little self-forgiveness? We’ve got you.
You scream, I scream, we all scream, “We have to leave!” The mornings are out of control for many of us. If you’re doing too much yelling, begging, bribing and generally feel out of control - you are NOT alone.
Here’s what you have to know:
Here’s what to try tomorrow:
Plan tonight. Get out the outfits, the backpacks, the lunches and anything else you’ll need. Have your child do a final check that everything is at the door before bedtime, ready for action.
Make a schedule. Have the morning routine clearly defined (pictures for those under 5). Involve your child in making a schedule to increase the likelihood they will follow it. Avoid too much unstructured time (TV watching, playing) that can lead to harder transitions.
Use timers to help keep everyone on track. Allow your children to set a timer (visual timer for the youngest ones) for each of the activities on the list. When the timer goes off, prompt them to check the schedule and let you know what comes next.
Give lots of empathy, but still hold the line. We can help our children to feel understood AND help them do hard things. Provide validation to your child (i.e. “I know you’re so tired” instead of, “this is why we can’t fight at bedtime’), and then keep moving. “We all have hard days like this, and we can do it.”
Forgive yourself. Parenting is an endless cycle of repair. We can always recover from a bad day, a hard moment, or an accidental blow up. Try setting an intention to reset. “I’m sorry I yelled this morning. I’m going to work on that, and let’s both work on making mornings easier for all of us.”