Back-to-School Tips: Morning Routine

Sum­mer is wind­ing down and that means back to the school rou­tine. Get­ting out the door on time and stress-free can be chal­leng­ing for both kids and par­ents. QMG Clin­i­cal Coor­di­na­tor of Pedi­atric Ther­a­py Lyn­nae Glas­cock has some help­ful tips to help your morn­ings go easier.

• Be con­sis­tent with bed­time and wake-up time. Con­sid­er estab­lish­ing a con­sis­tent time to wake up and go to bed for chil­dren. Their bod­ies will learn to expect this, mak­ing sleep and wake times more predictable.
• Stag­ger wake-up times for each child. If there are mul­ti­ple chil­dren in your home, con­sid­er stag­ger­ing wake-up times to allow time to help each child.
• Pos­i­tiv­i­ty in the morn­ing is a neces­si­ty. Start­ing the day off with a sim­ple, ​“good morn­ing”, a smile, a hug, or cud­dle time can set the stage for the rest of the day.
• Plan­ning ahead may help tremen­dous­ly. Sim­ple activ­i­ties such as choos­ing clothes the night before, fig­ur­ing out break­fast, and pack­ing back­packs will save time and effort in the morn­ing. Involv­ing the child in these deci­sions is nec­es­sary to avoid con­flict in the morning.
• Visu­al check­lists may also be ben­e­fi­cial. Pic­tures of tasks that need to be com­plet­ed can help even the youngest child under­stand their expec­ta­tions and pro­motes independence.