How to Quickly Take Your Child Out the Door Every Morning
Getting kids out the door in the morning can be done in one of two ways: they wake up early and then mess around forcing a fight at the last minute, or they wake up late with a fight at the last minute. I know very few people who come to school or kindergarten on time and calmly – maybe these are the people who have a late start and a short road to work? But after a particularly impressive late holiday in our family last week (waking up late, having breakfast one crumb at a time, the usual bumming, forgotten backpacks), I decided to look for some time-saving tips. Here are seven:
1. Make a playlist so the children know exactly how much time they have for each activity.
If your kids wake up at 7 and need to walk out the door at 7:45 am, put together a 45-minute playlist so they know it’s time to put on their pants at the beginning of Yellow Submarine or whatever. Change your playlist every few months to keep yourself from going crazy. Visual timers are another good option if your kids don’t understand time yet.
2. Put toddlers / preschoolers to sleep in school clothes.
It works if their school clothes are as comfortable as jammy. My 7-year-old can get dressed pretty quickly, but I often check my 4-year-old 20 minutes after I told him to get dressed and found him pondering, one foot and a half sock in the frozen air. It’s much easier to just put it on the day after your evening bath. A colleague does this to his daughter – the pajamas are “special” and are for the weekend.
3. Do as much as possible in advance.
This means backpacks, coats and shoes are ready at the front door the night before. Clothes are laid out the night before. Breakfasts are pre-cooked oatmeal or muffins. If your kids get up early and you don’t, let them eat their own breakfast — put the cereal on the bottom shelf in the refrigerator the night before. Refuel the day before or, if you can, refuel once on Sundays. If your kids don’t wear coats in the car (they shouldn’t if they’re still in the car), put their bags and jackets in the car the night before. I have a friend whose two children only eat PB&J for lunch; on Sundays she makes 10 sandwiches, wraps them in Saransk wrap and puts them in the freezer. Every morning bam, bam , lunchbox sandwiches, pre-packed sides, and they’re out the door.
4. Rethink breakfast.
Breakfast doesn’t have to be at the table or even at home. Children can eat a bun or waffle and fruit in the car, bus, or stroller. They can have lunch at school if possible. I have a few friends who offer their kids breakfast at a diner or fast food cafe if they leave the house by a certain time. For teens, a bribe in the form of cocoa or coffee can speed up the process. I know two different people who offer yogurt lollipops if the kids put on their shoes and walk out the door before someone starts screaming.
5. Use checklists and workbooks.
I still train my seven-year-old in the morning (“brushing my teeth,” “getting dressed,” “putting on a sweater and shoes,” etc.), and to be honest, that needs to be stopped. Friends with kids my son’s age have checklists – the first item is “wake up” – for their morning routine, and that suits them very well. For pre-readers, flyers or charts with exercises printed on them will help keep them focused on the task at hand. (Pinterest has 9 million ideas for morning routine charts; I especially love the ones in which the child folds the assignment when he’s done it.) For older children, a weekly cleaning table can help them keep track of tools, library books, permits, and more.
6. Streamline your morning workflow.
My kids wake up ungodly early and want to have breakfast immediately, but dressing them can be exhausting, so from now on I will insist that they dress before eating. This allows me to buy some time and encourage them to get rid of this chore. Other friends store baby clothes in the living room and dress them there while they watch the show. Others brush children’s hair while they eat. Older children can pack their own meals (ideally the night before), which minimizes complaints, and can also have breakfast for themselves and younger siblings.
7. Offer bribes as rewards.
A friend with five-year-old twins allows them to feed the fish, if they are dressed and ready – for some reason they are interested in this task. Another promises an audiobook in the car if you shake your leg. My oldest son is allowed to read for a few minutes if he is wearing shoes and a sweater (I can change this to allow him to read on our stairs if he also puts on outerwear and a backpack – one less body in the stairwell). If we arrive at school five minutes early, we can sit on the playground or in the cafeteria and have our “second breakfast” breakfast – a granola bar. One member of my parents’ group on the Internet suggests letting her child listen to an audio recording of the story on YouTube (today it wasCorduroy ) while she dresses and puts on snow.
It’s true that for some of us the morning will never be easy – it’s still early, after all, and the time-space continuum is a bitch. But at some point we might do better, right? Right? And now let’s go buy fish for feed.