*Why You Need a Morning Routine
The role of routines and schedules in our daily lives are essential to our overall productivity and honestly, our happiness and well-being. Furthermore, morning routines are geared specifically towards setting up your entire day for success. So you want to make sure you do the same for your child by creating their morning routine.
To get a better sense of the importance of daily routines, click on this post here.
So let’s look at some key essentials in making the best morning routine for your little one!
If you’ve read the daily routine post, you already know how important it is to have this type of structure for your child and their mental health.
Now let’s get into the goodies!
*What Your Child’s Morning Routine Should Include
Step 1: Wakeup
Wake up should be around the same time everyday. If your child is young, they will most likely wake up before you do. However, it is important that you work on a scheduled time for them to get out of bed and begin their day. The reason this is important is it will simply allow you to have a couple minutes of privacy before attending to their needs, which trust me, will make you feel better in the long run. In addition, it teaches them boundaries, and more self control and independence in starting their day.
But, if your child is able to sleep in, make sure you have a chosen time every day to wake them up. Once they become accustomed to this time, their body will adjust as well, just as ours do, to waking up then.
Also, be sure to notice your child’s wake up behaviors. Do they need a few minutes to stretch and open their eyes? Or can they pop right up and begin their day? This should be factored into the time you choose to wake them up so no one feels rushed. There is nothing worse than feeling like you have to jump out of bed and run to work or run to school.
Step 2: Make Your Bed
This period is specific to parents who want to take on a little more during their morning or want to establish responsibilities early on. I am on board with having children practice taking responsibility early on. It grows their independence and their confidence, which will present itself in other areas too!
Now obviously you won’t be able to have your 2yr. old make their own bed. But, they can assist you with the process. Remember, children learn through visuals and action. Even just having them bring you the pillows already establishes their understanding that we make the bed every morning. If you do not have them help you then the first thing they will learn is that mommy makes the bed every morning. And once you turn the tables when they are in elementary or middle school, the transition of responsibility will be much harder.
(Same thing with laundry by the way, and many other household tasks)
But just remember, when you have your preschooler helping with tasks, it will take longer! Factor this into your morning routine and make sure to allot the right amount of time for the task.
If you find yourself being rushed every morning because of this then I would recommend skipping it for now. Having a calm established morning routine is more important than fitting in as many tasks as possible.
Step 3: Breakfast
Once your child is up and feeling awake it is time for a hardy meal. There is a lot of new information out there saying that the whole “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” concept is just propaganda by the food industries now, and we do not have to adhere to it, but this is untrue for your child.
Your child should be having breakfast every single morning to give them enough energy to move about their day, and keep their bellies full until their first meal time in school. Now perhaps their first meal time is early in school and they provide breakfast, then just make sure it is an adequate amount and check that your child is eating it every day.
Also, just as a side note: food is important for children as a important factor in their growing process. Once you’re an adult and let’s say trends such as intermittent fasting are doing good for you, for a child please stick to providing breakfast. Trust me, their day will be better if you do.
I would allocate abut 15-20 minutes for breakfast. If it is rushed, you will be met with stubbornness to not eat at all and probably tears. Let’s not go there.
Step 4: Brush Teeth
After breakfast, it is time to brush teeth! This can be a difficult process for any parent, especially a parent under a time crunch to get their children out the door. So again, make sure you allot enough time to get the process done.
I would start out by doing it myself, and then once they are old enough, let them explore doing it independently, and follow up with another adult brushing just to be sure.
Step 5: Pick Clothes
This can be the biggest battle of the morning. Especially moving from 2s to 3s when personal style becomes much more of a thing. If you don’t believe me, just wait till your 3yr. old is talking and finding their independence. Clothes are the first thing they feel they need to make choices about.
So let’s win by preparing the night before. You should always lay out two options the night before that you think your preschooler will like so there is less of a hassle the following morning. Especially because time is usually of the essence in the morning, prepare as much as possible the night before.
Next, the reason you want to pick out two options is so that your child can have their power moment and choose something they would like to wear to school. Any time there is a fight over clothes it is more because your child is learning to assert themselves for the first time. So you are still allowing them to do this by picking what they want to wear from the nice options you laid out. It is a win win and no morning tantrums have to take place.
Step 6: Time to Go
The last part is finally getting out the door. Now you should already have a scheduled time you need to leave everyday. Make sure you adhere to this and have it become routine every day (or at least Monday through Friday).
This part will include getting jackets and shoes on, backpacks, packed lunch if needed. Oh, and also grabbing all of your things for work! Don’t forget about yourself :).
Make sure you know what is needed, how much time it takes, and prep as much as possible. The more organized you are the less rushed you’ll be and the more successful your exit will be.
*Summary
An entire morning routine can be daunting at first but if everything is planned and scheduled out, all it takes is practice. Practice your timing, practice how much prep you can do the night before, and keep trying until you find something that works for you and your family.
Remember, only take on morning tasks such as making the bed, brushing teeth, putting on shoes, that you feel comfortable with your kids doing. As long as it fits into the time schedule, let them help. If it doesn’t, don’t worry about it right now.
Don’t forget to think about their need to make choices! And just keep an open mind to switching it up when necessary.
But, keep the routine going. Everything is more successful with a calm and planned start to the day.
If you have any morning tips you’d like to share please submit them in the comments below! See you there!
[…] Also, if you haven’t read my other posts on the importance of daily routines and creating morning routines, I will link them for you here. #Create Daily Routines for Your Toddler #The Best Morning Routine for Your Preschooler! […]