Make the morning rush to school a lot less hectic

Posted 8/21/13

Weekday mornings during the school year can be hectic. Parents who must get their youngsters ready for school while preparing for their own day often find themselves rushing through the morning and …

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Make the morning rush to school a lot less hectic

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Weekday mornings during the school year can be hectic. Parents who must get their youngsters ready for school while preparing for their own day often find themselves rushing through the morning and wishing there was just a little more time before they had to run out the door.

While parents can’t add another hour to the morning unless they wake up earlier, there are ways they can be more efficient in the morning. An efficient morning is typically a less hectic morning, and the following are a few ways families can work together to make more efficient use of their time on weekday mornings during the school year.

Get a head start the night before. Perhaps the most effective way to make mornings less hectic during the school year is to accomplish as much as possible the night before. Instead of making kids’ lunches each morning, make them at night right before you go to bed. Along with your kids, lay out their clothes for the next day before they go to sleep each night. This way kids won’t waste time in the morning agonizing over what to wear, and they’re liable to put up less of a fuss in the morning if they had a hand in choosing their attire for the day.

Avoid turning your kitchen into a diner each morning. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it also can be the most indecisive meal of the day. Kids likely won’t want to eat the same thing for breakfast every day, but give them fewer options so you aren’t wasting time discussing what they are going to eat. The more closely your breakfast options resemble those of a diner, the more time your child is liable to waste choosing what to eat.

Limit time in the bathroom. Spending too much time in the bathroom is another way families waste time on weekday mornings. Bathroom time should be limited to a set amount of time per person so everyone can get where they need to go on time. How much time adults and children spend in the bathroom each morning should depend on how many bathrooms you have and how many people are sharing those bathrooms. But even if everyone has their own private bathroom, try to limit the time you spend in the bathroom to 15 minutes per person. That should be plenty of time to shower, use the restroom and brush your teeth.

Locate must-have items before going to bed at night. Your school-aged youngsters and you will need certain things before you can leave home every morning. Car keys, cell phones, wallets, eyeglasses, and backpacks are a handful of items all of you will need at some point during your day. Locate these items before you go to bed each night and place them in the same convenient place each night. This saves you the trouble of running around in the morning looking for lost car keys or wondering where your youngster’s eyeglasses ended up the night before.

Turn the television off in the morning. Watching television in the morning can be very distracting, which can make it harder for adults and kids alike to get out the door on time in the morning. Kids might want to watch cartoons, which may keep them from preparing for school or brushing their teeth. And adults can grow easily distracted by news programs and morning shows, which will eat up time they need to get ready for the day ahead.

Gas up the car the night before. A pit stop at the gas station en route to school or the office will only add to the hectic nature of the morning. Check your fuel gauge each night before arriving home and refuel your vehicle if it’s running low. This gives you a little extra time to relax in the morning and reduces the risk that you or your child will be late for work or school, respectively.

Weekday mornings during the school year can quickly become frenetic. But a few time-saving tips can ensure you and your youngsters start each morning off a lot more relaxed.

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