The way I start my day is so important to me. If I wake up late or don’t get to do my morning routine, it can put me in a bad mood. Recently, I started focusing on how I could make sure my kids were getting a positive start as well. I want them to have a great day and I believe that starts with a good morning.
5 Ways to Make Sure Your Kids Have a Great Day
1. Set a Proper Bedtime: If you want a good morning, you need to start the night before. A good nights rest is important for everyone, but especially for growing kids. I know that on school nights, my kids need to be in bed no later than 8:30pm. Much later than that and they will struggle to get up in time.
2. Gentle Wake Up: My mom always woke me up peacefully and slowly. Now I take extra time to wake my kids the same way. I wake my son about 10 minutes before he really needs to be up. I go in his room, gently wake him up and ask him if he needs a few more minutes of sleep. Sometimes he will get right up, other times he needs 5 or even 10 minutes of extra snooze time. My daughter usually wakes up soon after she hears him, so I don’t even have to bother with her! I know they appreciate it, since when they come in my room to wake me up on weekends, they use the same gentle manner on me. (which cracks me up)
3. Prep & Pack the Night Before: We make sure all homework is done the night before, so there is nothing left to finish in the morning. I have my son pack up his backpack and anything he needs to bring to school before bed as well. He has a school uniform, so he doesn’t need to set his clothes out… but that is another good idea of something to do the night before.
4. Make Sure Breakfast is Quick, Healthy and Protein-Packed: A good breakfast is so important for my kids, especially for my son. Most of his important school work is done at the beginning of his day so if he’s hungry he will have trouble concentrating. My daughter loves cream of wheat and my son loves cereal and oatmeal. Check out my PB & J Overnight Oats and these Breakfast Yogurt Popsicles.
5. Use Time Blocks: I have talked about padding my leave time before, but this is a fairly new tactic that is working well. I love time blocking in my daily life, so I decided to use it during my kids morning routine. My son is slowly learning when he needs to be out of bed, dressed, etc. He follows the same timeline every morning and it works! He knows he needs to be dressed before breakfast and that breakfast time needs to start around 7. He needs to be completely ready for school (teeth brushed, socks on) by 7:20. This has made my life SO much easier, since I don’t have to tell him what to do anymore. I just ask, “What time is it?” or yell out a time check myself.
No one likes starting off the day on the wrong foot! If at little extra effort helps my kids kick off the day on a positive and happy note, then it is worth it! Do you have any tips and tricks to make sure your kids have a great morning? I would love to hear about it in the comments section.
I love this. These are great ideas!
Thank you! 🙂 Have a great day and thanks for stopping by! 🙂
These are great suggestions!! I can do a better job of number 2 and 3 for sure!!
I think I have the hardest time with making breakfast quick. Or breakfast at all. I mean most days my kid winds up having an english muffin with marmalade because I can’t think of anything else.
That does sound delicious though, I love english muffins! 🙂
Great tips babe! I will have to pass them on to my best friend who is a mom 🙂 xo, sharon
http://www.stylelullaby.com/lifestyle/staying-healthy-traditional-medicinals-walmart/
Awesome! Thanks for sharing 🙂
These are all fantastic suggestions and tips! Thank you for sharing this!
I am glad you enjoyed them! Have a wonderful week!
These are great ideas! Thanks for sharing them!
Belle | One Awesome Momma
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!
Great ideas! 🙂 I let my little guy sleep until he wakes up but when I do have to wake him up, I like this idea to give him more time.
My son would sleep right though his school start time… unless it is the weekend. Then he is wide awake before the sun is up! ha!
Great post and suggestions. We don’t usually need to worry about waking our son up since he’s running into our room about half an hour before we need to get up every morning! I have to say it’s the best alarm clock out there 🙂
These are great suggestions!! We are still in the toddler stage so my guy is up at 6:30, but I put toys in his crib so he can wake up on his own time and sit and play while I get any last minute things done before I go get him.
Having a good morning really does set the mood for the rest of your day! I remember when I was a kid and I’d spend the mornings searching for homework, and shoes…oh, what a nightmare! I never really thought about the power of gentle waking, but I love it!! Thanks so much for sharing <3
Great tips! I totally agree with padding the time in the morning.
Great tips for kids and adults! I work at an elementary school, and I can tell when a child’s nighttime routine has been disrupted.
I do all of these but gentle wake up. I find it hard to get my eldest out of bed. I try to be as gentle as I can, but she just won’t get up. Great advice
These are great tips and will really be helpful when my babes get older.
Some really great tips here! Hoping they can help us have some smoother mornings at our house. Thanks for sharing!
These are great tips mama and it sounds like we have a similar morning routine. I love your idea of gently waking them up a few minutes before. I’m going to try that!
xo, Nicole
Your number 1 is also my number one rule!!! So important to get enough sleep.
Great tips! They all apply to me, too! Hahaha!
The time blocking idea is so awesome! I need to start going that with my kiddos.