Getting Tyler ready for school without any hassles is a goal I aspire to achieve. He loves school. Wakes up with the sunniest disposition I’ve even seen, but the child is slow with a capital S. And since most nights I work late I can’t get up any earlier than our appointed 6:30 am wake up time. Besides, this gives him an hour and about 10 minutes to get ready. Which is plenty of time as far as I’m concerned. But he prefers to spend most of his time playing around and I end up hurrying him along. So what should parents do to avoid morning hassles? In Eating, Sleeping and Getting Up, the author offers several suggestions for frazzled parents. Here are a few of them:
We should have a concrete plan of action and stick to it.
Children should have the knowledge of what is expected of them as well as the tools, like alarm clocks, in order for them to take responsibility for the simple tasks involved in the morning routines.
The author says it’s okay to take a child to school, “as is” if they have chosen not to get completely dressed.
Parents should also plan how they will handle sleeping in on weekends. Tyler generally wakes around 8 am on weekends but if he sleeps later I let him rest (of course, this means I also get to sleep later too!).
Finally, children should be involved in all aspects of the morning routine including getting breakfast ready and cleaning up afterwards. This is something I allow Tyler to do most days. For instance, if he wants cereal he can prepare it himself. If he wants toast, I let him put his own jelly own it.
The book contains many more tips and insights into dealing with these three behaviors. The author includes quizzes, worksheets and real-life scenarios. There’s also a good chapter on respect and some afterthoughts on how we can pull it together and make these three problems virtually disappear.
How do you, as a parent, handle these three battles?
See also:
Eating, Sleeping and Getting Up Part Two
Eating, Sleeping and Getting Up Part One