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There are many benefits of having a leisurely morning instead of a crazy one. Some benefits include lowering your stress level, feeling more in control of your day, instilling healthy habits, and boosting your energy before you even leave the house. Easing into our day is much better than jumping out of bed and rushing around to get ready to go when we wake up. This post talks about setting up morning routines for you and your family. Follow along and make your mornings easy.
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Everyone needs a routine (Affiliate Link) in the morning. Those tasks you do to make your day start off more relaxed and less stressed. Though, setting up morning routines for you and your kids can be difficult especially if you have never done it before.
Start with your morning goals.
When we are running around, there is bound to be something we forget. So, take a moment the night before and use this checklist (Affiliate Link) to help you make sure you list everything everyone needs to do during the morning. Divide the routines up by person. If you wish to, have your partner and kids get involved. It can be a family project.
Ask yourself these questions when making your morning routine:
If you need help determining your morning routine (Affiliate Link), ask yourself these questions.
- What do you want the kids to do in the morning? Are there chores that you want them to do? Check out our list of duties for different age groups.
- Are there things you want to get done in the morning? List them.
- What do you want to get completed to start your day off on the right foot? Check out our post about morning rituals for ideas.
- At the end of the day, what would you regret not doing? Some things may be forgotten before leaving in the morning. What can you do the night before to ensure you haven't forgotten them?
- Can things in my kitchen be placed in a better spot to get things done quickly? Check out our Organizing a Kitchen for Easy Mornings post for suggestions.
Get the kids involved.
You can start having your kids do some morning routines as early as five years old. At this age, they are used to going to school and a structured schedule, so it will make it easy for them to pick up new routines at home. Children at this age want their independence from mom and dad, so why not give it to them. Some kids with ADHD may need additional assistance; I found this post from ADDitude that may help.
How to assign morning routines to your children
When you first assign the tasks to the children, give the tasks to them in an easy-to-follow order. Stay away from multitasking. At this age, keeping them focused on one task at a time is best. If you give them a bathroom task like brushing their teeth, then the next step would be to have them get dressed in the outfit they picked out the night before. That way, they will not get toothpaste on their outfit. Thinking about these steps will make for an easy transition for your child and you.
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Make a morning routine sign for kids.
If your child forgets routines to do in the morning, you can hang up a sign like this in the bathroom and the bedroom to help them remember.
If your child isn't interested in getting involved in the morning routine (Affiliate Link), you can make a game out of it. Offer rewards if they complete certain tasks by a specific time. For example, If they set out their outfit the night before, you can allow them to spend a little more time in bed. If they pack their lunch the night before, they can watch a short video before leaving.
For Younger Than Five-Year-Old Kids
If you want to get younger than five kids involved and do not read yet, add drawings with the words on the checklist (Affiliate Link). You can add a picture of a toothbrush to symbolize brushing teeth. Or use an image of an outfit for getting dressed.
Other tips when making your morning routines
Below are some other tips to help you make your morning routine (Affiliate Link) effective.
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Laminate the morning routine (Affiliate Link) checklist (Affiliate Link) to prevent it from getting wet when they walk around with the list. They can even use a dry-erase marker to check off the tasks on the list when they finish a task.
When you determine their routine (Affiliate Link), remember that you may need to adjust for maximum effectiveness.
If you need to give your family and you more direction until a new habit is formed, carry around the checklist (Affiliate Link). You can even make one that shows your tasks to the left and their tasks to the right. This way, you will see what they must complete and what you need to get done without missing anything.
It may take a month to get a new morning routine (Affiliate Link) in order, so be patient in the process. Rest assured, a more relaxing morning routine (Affiliate Link) is worth it for you and your family. I hope this helps you get motivated to create your family's morning routine (Affiliate Link).
Please return and leave a comment below on how it is going to make your morning routine (Affiliate Link). Did you have a chance to implement it? How did that go? How did your kids do with the process? I would love to hear from you.
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Janet Schiesl says
We definitely had a morning routine when my kids were young and everyone knew what they were responsible for doing. Now that they are grown, my morning routine consists of mostly work-related tasks. These are the things that need to be done every day and getting them over with first thing guarantees they get done.
Julie Bestry says
Because I'm a night owl, I like to prep absolutely everything the night before, down to putting out my bowl, cup, and silverware for the next morning and hanging the outfit I intend to wear. Thus, I can move myself through my morning routine (wake, test my blood glucose, eat, shower, groom, and depart) without engaging my brain (and sometimes, without entirely opening my left eye. I'm a big fan of routines, as they let you go on autopilot as much as possible, saving your mental energy for the most important things. Having been trained into this kind of system since I was a child, I know what a comfort it can be for tiny humans to always know what to expect.
Seana Turner says
I was just talking with a client this morning. She had been away for a couple of days, with Grandma taking over with the kids. Her children liked the way Grandma had done things in the morning, primarily that there was more of a routine. This was sort of a headline to my client, and we ended up talking about how to set up a routine like this.
Love the idea of a laminated, dry-erase type of list. I've also seen magnetic charts where the child can slide a magnet to show that the task has been completed.
I often suggest putting on a familiar playlist each morning to keep kids away from devices and to have a musical countdown clock running in the background.
All great tips!
Jonda Beattie says
When my children were little I had routines in place for them. I posted lists on the bathroom mirror and on the front door as they left for school. This simplified the shouting and lowered the stress.
Now that I am older and the children are long gone I enjoy my morning routine and get a bit upset if it has to change on a certain day for some reason. I find that it helps me start each day with a positive more relaxed note.
Janet Barclay says
I can't imagine trying to function without a morning routine! Working from home since 2005, it's not as big a deal as it was when I worked outside the home, and especially when we had two teenagers!