Current morning routine for kids in your house killing you? One of these 7 essentials is amiss! My tips & child routine chart => guaranteed easier mornings!

Morning Routine For Kids Doesn’t Have To Be Difficult- Just Choose To Do The Right Things!

You may already know that a morning routine for kids is the first step in making a smooth day for everyone at home.
But it is easier said than done!
For a morning routine to go smooth, you need kids who wake up early, are not grumpy, enjoy breakfast tables and bathrooms… and then actually agree to leave fun activities and get ready for school.
But in this guide, I’m going to show you how to make each of these steps easy for your kids so they can master their mornings over time.

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Add more time into your morning by borrowing from the night before

If your mornings feel stifling, that may be because you are trying to squeeze in more tasks than can possibly fit into the small time frame that you have. And if we do not control this situation, the resulting stress will spread to other parts of the day.

That is one whole day lost!

If there are things that you can do the night before, do them. I will give you suggestions. Things like:

• Plan out the next day’s schedule and todos
• Pack lunchboxes
• Complete all homework from bed
• Iron clothes for the next day
• Give a bath and shampoo before bed
• Fill your car fuel
• Share any special plans for the next day with your child the day before to set expectations. We don’t want to shock them with sudden-to-them plans.

Another thing I think is very essential and helps me with my mornings is fueling my mind. You and I know that by the time night comes, we are too tired to think about anything except when we will land into our bed.

But if I pause, just a little, and listen to something motivational or read a book, then I will sleep with my mind full of lessons from today and hopes for tomorrow. Most often, I will wake up with the same spirit with which I concluded the day.

All this, for only an investment of 15 minutes the night before.

Supercharge your own batteries first with a pre-morning routine

Having your own separate morning routine, even if that means you have to leave the bed half an hour earlier than the kids can create supercharge you.

This topic is very essential and there are a number of ways to lessen the routine wear out which is why I wrote a separate post about stay at home mom morning routine – the personal pre-morning version. Take a minute to read it, who knows it might save you some sanity for the remainder of your day.

Use visual reminders as an extra pair of hands

If you take out time on any weekend and set a simple easy morning schedule for kids that everyone can stick to, things become easier. Just put it on a paper or use my printable morning routine checklist so your kids learn what to expect. It is only difficult in the beginning, and over time, their dislike and resistance lessen. (yes, only lessen, never diminish!).

Moreover, if you connect a simple habit of ticking off tasks as they are completed, it develops accountability for them. There are ways to make this fun. For example, you can use star stickers whenever your child completes one task.

Elicit positivity and excitement from kids by modeling it

I was alarmed to learn that research says our feelings, much like the germs of a cough or other illness, are contagious. Moreover, think about, after learning that…

The contagious nature of emotions can become amplified when individuals are in frequent contact with one another.

… what our children see in our countenance most throughout the day. Grumpiness? Or positivity?

For some reason, I used to hate dislike toothbrush sessions with my son a lot. But soon I realized how I add to his resistance even more (which cycles back into my grumpiness) because I had a frowning face, to begin with.

Now that I know, I model (to the extent of extreme pretense sometimes!) how much fun it is to get clean. We try making a game out of brushing – to find tiny insects and brush them out. And things have definitely become better. Sometimes we like to sing the rhymes he’s learning at school too.

An organized home guarantees smoother morning routines

Many things need to work together for a good morning routine for kids, but an organized home where everything (at least the ones your child has to use every day) is at its proper place makes things easier for your kids.

If most items your kids will need in the morning are not where they should be -every.single.time, it will result in an unnecessary hunt and time waste come the next morning.

It doesn’t save any time if we just toss the towel near us instead of hanging it back after using just because we think our child will run away. He won’t.

Actually, I always ask my son to go and hang the towel back. It is never easy to get help from young children, but consistency helps.

Reduce unnecessary struggles down to other parts of the day

Keep things simple or predecided wherever you can. I don’t give my son endless choices for breakfast time simply because he could sit there changing menus all day long. According to my own menu, I do ask if he wants A (e.g. eggs) or B (the other thing he is enjoying eating these days).

Never keep the choices open from A to Z!

Make routines easier with consistency

If you are new to routines, it will actually help that you try different things before you pick your sweet spot for a simple kids morning routine. But once you find it, don’t let anyone or anything affect it.

If you pick one thing out of this entire post for an easy morning routine for kids, let it be this one. Being consistent in routines will help you in many ways:

• resistance to tasks will reduce
• over time, kids will learn what they have to do and they will need less supervision from you. That is less work for you!
• in teaching consistency, you will actually be training kids to resist temptations and stick to what needs to be done. This behavior will start showing in other areas of life too.
• being consistent will build confidence to accomplish tasks independently which in turn solidifies integrated-ness

Related: Use a monthly calendar like this one with kids to track habits. 

A Sample Easy Morning Routine For Kids

I have written an entire post about this topic and you can check it here. It also includes a free morning chart for getting ready. You can print out this morning routine chart, laminate it and put on the wall.

Just want the printable morning routine chart for the kids? Fill in the form below to access the pdf download. This getting ready for school checklist will keep your kids on track and accountable too.

The Amazing Benefits Of A Good Morning Before School

A morning routine can make or break the day for everyone in the house. Which is why it is important to train our children now for building strong morning routines. Ones that set them up for a successful day ahead.

It boils down to being deliberate and preparing ahead on our part as mothers. I believe that the feelings we create in the early hours of our day become a self-fulfilling prophecy for the remainder of our time too.

Now I want to turn it over to you: what challenges do you face or have overcome while setting a morning routine for kids in your house? Sharing your viewpoint in the comment section below may help inspire a struggling mom.

Related: How To Make Kids Listen (Right Now!): 13 Respectful Ways