We’ve all had those mornings where everything that could go wrong...does.  You wake up late, burn breakfast, your kids throw a tantrum, spill coffee on your shirt then you realize you have no gas in your car. Mornings can be unpredictable and stressful and the times for unorganized mornings are over. I have found 7 easy solutions to your problems. You can thank us later :) 

1. Make a game plan

The best way to get everyone on the same page is to have a game plan and have it visible so everyone can see and know what’s going on.  You can use flashcards, a whiteboard or if you want to be a little more decorative a chalkboard painted wall to make your plan visible.  Make sure you have it displayed in a very prominent place in your child’s room or in a common area in your house. What you should display should be the following:

• Names
• To do list [ have we brushed our teeth? Showered? Made our bed?  Are we dressed for success?]
• Reminders [ what events are happening today. Is today’s Bexleys swim lessons?  Does Jamison have a playdate?]

To keep things positive, have a success tracker for whatever goals you set together and are completed on time!  Once you reach 7 stars, you get to pick a treat out of the treat bin!  Bexley personally loves stickers so whenever she does something on time she gets to put the stickers on the board and that just makes her whole life.  This is also a great place to put positive messages to help set the tone first thing.

2.Make a playlist

Getting ready in the morning is already a drag, but who says you can’t make it fun.  Dance parties are ALWAYS fun…even on Mondays, and they are super contagious 😊 Grab you speakers and put them in the house where everyone can hear and get up and dance!  When creating a playlist, you should select songs that the kids like but won’t create an immediate meltdown if they hate the song (made the mistake of playing a Trolls song when we were going through our Moana phase…it took a good 30 minutes to calm that tantrum). Where this starts paying off big time is when you are consistent! Use the same playlist for a specific purpose: wake up playlist, clean up, nap time etc. By being consistent, the songs can set the tone for what is about to happen.

3.Pick out clothes for the week

To save chaos and confusion, have your and your children’s clothes picked out and organized every Sunday.  The older they get, the more involved they can be and they can start to help you pick them out.  Organize them in plastic totes, labeled Sunday – Saturday, or on a closet organizer.  This will save you so much time in the mornings. 

4.Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and easily the most forgotten.  I mean, let’s admit it.  Who wants to get up early and make an extravagant breakfast on a Monday?  Not me, I’d rather snooze my alarm till the last possible minute and grab McDonalds on the way out the door.  Check out this article that lists 25 breakfast recipes you can make the night before!

5. Make healthy snacks for the day

Snacks are so important for kids. The only thing worse than a hangry Husband/Wife/Partner is a hangry toddler. Naptime interruptions and hunger are two of the biggest contributors to mood swings.  To prevent having to stop what you are doing during the day to get snacks for your little one, make them the night before and have it bagged and ready to go in the fridge or in the cabinet!!  To make your morning as painless as possible, try to get all of this done the night before.  Need some snack ideas?  Check out this article that lists yummy foods for toddlers!

Parents these last 2 are exclusively for you.

6. Coffee

The smell of coffee can wake you up and get you ready for the day.  You remember that Folgers commercial “the best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup!”  As a child/teen I had no idea what that meant but the older I got I realized…. they were right!  If you can set an alarm on your coffee maker than do that!  I personally am a Keurig girl, I put my k-cup in and push start as I get the kids ready.  By the time I’m ready to leave the house, my cup is done and all is right in the world.  If you are not a big coffee fan, its ok…herbal tea is a good alternative (and they have k-cups for that too).

 7. Keep everything by the door

Raise your hand if you have gotten halfway to daycare and realized you left the diaper bag in the kitchen.  Just me, ok…. cool.  But seriously, I have left someone’s bag or my own bag behind on a weekly basis.  If I can’t see it, I forget it. That is why I start leaving the bags right by the front door the night before, so I can see it as I walk out in the morning.  The saying “out of sight, out of mind” is so true to me it’s ridiculous.  This is a fool proof way of remembering to grab your name badge, grab your purse, grab the diaper bag.  This will save you from having to run back during morning traffic!    

I hope these little hacks help you, if you have any of your own hacks let us know!  Sharing is caring in this situation 😊

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