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Do you feel as though you are behind the 8 ball every morning?? Do you and your kids have a hard time getting out of the house on time each morning?? Here are some tips to simplify your mornings:
--Make sure you set your alarm to give you a reasonable amount of time to get ready each morning. If you keep hitting the snooze alarm, you will continue to be in a rush every morning.
--Before going to bed, lay out the clothes you or your children will wear the next morning. This will cut down on decision making time in the morning.
--Are the kids rushing around looking for backpacks and homework?? Before they go to bed, give each child a basket or hook by the front door to put backpacks, shoes and important papers into. This way they will always know where their things are.
--Make a few sets of extra car keys and always keep one on a hook near the door...no more searching for your keys.
--Buy a coffee maker with an electric timer and have your coffee ready and waiting for you each morning.
--Set the table and put out cereal bowls, cold cereal, etc on the table in the morning so that the kids can help themselves. Keep food that they need on a low shelf in the refrigerator and even the smallest children can help themselves.
--Use a reward chart for getting out of the house, or on the bus on time. If your kids are dawdling, tell them that they must be responsible for their own time, and start taking away privileges.
--Keep a big "family routing" calendar on the refrigerator so you know where each member of the family is going and who needs to be driven where.
--Limit television in the morning,,,if children get caught up in a show, they are less likely to get out the door in time.
--Even young children can make their own beds, don't expect perfection, just show them how to do it and let them be responsible for their own beds each morning.
--If you are an at-home mom with young kids, try and keep to a routine each morning, that way the children will know that after breakfast you get dressed and start the day...there will be less dawdling.
--Above all, simplifying your morning requires trial and error to see what works for you and your family. If all else fails, bite the bullet and get yourself up and out of bed earlier.
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