When we hear the word transition the first images that pop into our minds are usually the big ones – the transition into motherhood, or from 1 kid to multiple. We think about job changes, loss, new homes and fresh starts. We usually don’t think about day-to-day life, but really we spend our days transitioning. One of our most challenging transitions is the morning routine.
How do we have smoother, more connected mornings with kids?
If you have school age children one of the most challenging transitions can be the morning routine, getting a family ready and out the door is no small task, add in extra curriculars, multiple school drop offs or missing socks and it’s a recipe for chaos. Most advice you will find will tell you lay out clothes the night before and to make lunches ahead of time, and while this is good advice it focuses on the logistics of the morning routine.
When I look at our family’s transitions and routines I try and focus on what I want it to feel like first, then figure out logistics from there. Starting the day energized and connected were my top priority and with a little trial and error we have found morning groove that works for us. I hope by sharing some of our morning routine you will find something that will help make the transition from jammies to school drop off a little smoother.
Start With Calm and Connection
Start with calm and connection – most people don’t love to be woken up and jump right into an action-packed day, my girls are no different. My youngest especially likes a slower start to her day so I wake her up first and we read a story or play a game of “what if….”. This helps her ease into the day and the “what if…” game adds some humour to get us laughing. Then we wake up my oldest daughter and head down for breakfast. One of my favourite parts of winter mornings is the sun rises a little later so we often have picnic breakfasts by our backyard door and watch the sunrise.
Music
Create a transitions playlist – I think every parent out there has felt the frustration of asking your child to brush their teeth for what feels like the 10,000th time, only to be met with whining or eye rolling. After eating breakfast, the girl’s morning routine consists of 5 things – get dressed, make the bed, brush their teeth, brush their hair and wash their face. While they’re doing this, I need to be getting myself ready, and yelling reminders about bed making didn’t really fit in with my calm, connected vision for our mornings, so I made them a playlist.
There are 5 songs on their playlist, one for each part of their routine, which means that when the song is done they need to be moving to the next part of their morning routine. I made sure to choose songs that they know well so that they could anticipate how much time they had left for whatever part of the routine they were on and I have them start at different parts of the routine to avoid any “she’s in my space” arguments. It’s been working really well and since the songs we chose are upbeat and fun, we get that energized feeling I was hoping for and some bonus karaoke!
Movement
Include some kind of movement – my youngest daughter is in kindergarten this year and didn’t have the easiest start to the school year. Physical activity in the morning really helps move some of those nerves out of the body for her, and lucky for her, her Mom has the keys to a gymnastics club, ha! But if you don’t have an entire gym at your disposal, we also love dance parties, yoga, jumping jacks, stair races or even playing at the park at school for 5 minutes before the bell. This isn’t meant to be a 30-minute workout, just a quick burst of energy to shake out any nerves.
Here’s to mornings with more connection, less frustration and maybe even a hot coffee!
Erin is a Mom to two girls, the host of the Raising You + Me podcast and a parenting mentor. In her work with families she strives to give parents the tools to create their own version of heart centered parenting so they can connect more meaningfully with their kids and themselves and bring the joy back into parenting.
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