Now that school mornings are approaching again, you may be worried about adjusting your routine.
You may have one child to get off to school or nursery, or multiple children.
Here’s how to make it easier:
1. Start adjusting mornings earlier if they’ve crept forward.
This may be a laughable suggestion if your little one is firmly in the 5am wake up club, but in some cases morning wake ups may have crept later over the course of the summer. It’s worth sitting down and thinking about your timings, working backwards from what time you need to get to work. You want to factor in your commute time, and time to get both yourself and your child(ren) ready.
2. Think about what may have changed
It’s also worth thinking about what might have changed over the summer – has your toddler started dressing themselves? Do they now prefer a hot breakfast? Do you need to factor in trips to the toilet if you’ve been potty training? Allowing plenty of time in the morning will reduce friction and stress for yourself and your little ones. Where possible, encourage independence. Nobody wants a battle of wills with a little person first thing in the morning!
3. Reflect on your morning routine from last term
Were they stressful? Chaotic? What were the major pain points? If getting breakfast prepared was a headache, you could batch cook and freeze some breakfast muffins. Were you late everyday? Factor in some extra time in the mornings. Feeling frazzled trying to get ready with little ones at your feet? Consider waking a little earlier so you can get ready in peace. (Depending on how much sleep you’re managing to get).
4. Set up a visual morning routine chart for your toddler or child.
This can include a simple picture of the steps that need to be taken in the morning, in the order they need to be completed.
5. Set yourself up for success
A good night routine can do wonders at reducing stress in the mornings. I’ll be sharing a post later this week on how I prep the night before for nursery days.
If the idea of getting even less sleep once school/nursery starts again is worrying you and you’d like some support, drop me a message to see how I can support you to get more rest.
