How to Survive the Morning Rush
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Morning routines, when you have a family, are hectic at best. Kids can make it almost impossible to get out the door on time. With a little planning and experience though, leaving the house in the morning with your kids really isn’t all that big of a deal. You’ll get lots of practice and soon it will become like second nature. This includes providing a quick breakfast like Malt-O-Meal® Breakfast Cereals. It’s a cereal I know my kids will eat. Check out how we survive the morning rush and manage to leave the house on time with our kids.
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Get the kids to bed on time:
Some parents actually do not have kids that wake up at the crack of dawn. If you have children that do not like waking up early to get where they need to be going, I feel for you. Tackle this simply by making sure they get to bed on time. Early bedtime = easier to wake up and they are less cranky. If they struggle to sleep with an earlier bedtime, make sure you are setting them up for sleep by getting them into a bath before putting them into bed for the night.
Have a schedule in mind:
Another way to help you leave the house on time, with all of your kids and sanity in tow, is by having a schedule in mind. Figure out ahead of time when you will need to get them dressed, fed, and finally when you will be heading out the door. By having a clear timeline in your mind, you will be much more efficient at getting out the door on time day after day.
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Get everything ready the night before:
If you really want to get out the door with your whole family on time in the morning, make sure you get everything ready the night before. Lay out their clothing, socks, school bags and even their shoes and jackets beforehand. Make their lunches the night before, ready in the fridge to be thrown in their bags before they go out the door.
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Wake up earlier:
This is the hard part! One of the best ways for leaving the house on time without the stress is to actually wake up earlier. Of course, you may need to go to bed earlier in order to wake up earlier. Try it out for a week and see how you do.
Set two alarms:
Another important point that I sometimes miss is actually waking up at the scheduled time. We are all guilty of hitting snooze and waking up much later in a panic. Setting at least two alarms can help ensure you really do get up and get out the door! I set mine up on separate devices so that I am forced to get up, out of bed and actually shut the alarms up and then get going with my day.
Provide a quick breakfast:
One task that can take a long time in the morning is making breakfast, especially if you have picky children. While children need a hearty breakfast, you don’t need to spend all morning in the kitchen making it for them. I can pack the girls healthy options for lunch and feed them a home cooked dinner, but for breakfast, it is all about just getting them to eat something, any way I can. I personally rely on Malt-O-Meal® Breakfast Cereals for the fuel I know my kids will eat without a fuss.
Malt-O-Meal breakfast cereal comes in re-sealable bags that provide a large quantity of cereal at a low cost. This is perfect for our family as our kids love cereal and go through it so fast! The best part for me is that it’s inexpensive and my kids love the taste!
My kids are currently obsessed with Malt-O-Meal® Cookie Bites cereal. It is the easiest sell in the morning because the kids think they are actually getting away with eating dessert for breakfast, but Cookie Bites are actually made of flavoured sweetened corn and oat cereal and are an excellent source of Iron and Thiamine.
To learn more, check out the Malt-O-Meal website.
When it comes to leaving the house on time, try to stay calm mama. Kids can be all over the place in the mornings, especially younger ones, but you got this and you can make it happen!
What tips do you have for leaving the house on time with small kids?
What tips do you have for leaving the house on time with small kids?
Elizabeth Lampman is a coffee-fuelled Mom of 2 girls and lives in Hamilton, Ontario. She enjoys travelling, developing easy recipes, crafting, taking on diy projects, travelling and saving money!
I can’t think of any tips to add to this. I am sending your post to my daughter. By the time she gets here with my grand daughter when I watch her, she’s forgotten everything I’ll need for the day. She is the most unorganized person in the world, lol, so this post would be a big help.
I agree to what Beavers says.
Really, this is one of the most fantastic posts when it comes to frugality tips. Thanks.
I train my boys at an early age to learn how to get themselves ready for school. These are tips that they use.
I like your tips. We are NOT morning people, so I try to plan ahead and get things done the night before. My kids love this cereal.
These are some great tips, thankfully as it’s just myself and my other half we don’t really have a morning rush! But we still pre-plan to a degree.
This is so helpful! Love it so much mama!
Having a schedule is key. And having easy breakfast and lunch items is essential!
Super helpful post! mornings are challenging for us as we leave the house at 7 AM. Luckily we have a great nanny that comes in early and takes over. Finding support and someone trustworthy makes it so much easier.
These are all wonderful tips, from a young age my mom was always very much into us taking our life into our own hands and doing things for oursleves.
This is my life right now, especially during winter when you have to bundle them up. My brain always tells me to get everything ready the night before like you mentioned, but I never do. Thanks for the reminder.
These are some really great tips. It’s always nice to wake up early and have a hearty breakfast.
xo, Sondra
Cuisineandtravel.com
Great article! I’m sure any mom or dad can use these!
I remember the chaos when i was a kid. Having everyone up on time for school and things. It sure taught me a few things but this will also help for when i have kids!
After trying to perfect the morning rush for years, I have to admit that a good bedtime routine is key. It’s not always easy when your kids are almost teenagers though.
Having a schedule really does help. I normally make sure I know what everyone will be having for breakfast before their feet hit the ground.
I remember these days. My son is grown now with kids of his own. I’m sure he can relate. I should him this post. It may help lol
I’ve found that what works for our boys is letting them rest a little before starting their morning routine. It’s the only way to get our four-year-old going, he has my husband’s habits.
You seem to have your morning routine nailed down! I also set two alarms, just in case!
Well it looks like you have a set schedule! Which can be very hard to attain, you’re admirable! Thanks for sharing.
my mom was so good with this. sometimes i wonder how she was able to manage everything getting us ready for school, my dad’s coffee and breakfast when he wakes up and my mom also has a fulltime job. i don’t have a child and i’m not a morning person. i dunno if i can be like her too.
These are awesome tips. My favorite one is to have a quick breakfast ready.
That morning rush can kill the whole day. I have to get things ready the night before. Otherwise I can’t handle the daily catastrophe (there’s always something).
Gosh , I am always running like a headless chicken. My daughter is slow and i scream like crazy. Awesome tips.
Ah the morning rush. Every day is a struggle. I plan and plan and then someone wakes up sick, in a bad mood, runs slower than usual… We end up in total chaos.
Setting two alarms works best for me 😁 I think making a strict bed time routine is most important to avoid morning rush.
Great tips! Having a quick breakfast and things prepared the night before help our morning rushes.
Mornings can be so hectic! This is great advice for calming the morning crazy.
My mornings are chaotic even without kids! You moms are total superstars haha
These tips will also work on my husband. I am having a hard time convincing him of going to bed early. Haha. His breakfast is mostly just a smoothie.
The morning rush makes me nuts!! I always have to do prep the night before!!!
Mornings can be so difficult. We try to prepare as much as we can the night before so things go a bit smoother in the next day.
At this point, I cant even imagine (yet) how I will look like when David and I have kids. So far, our morning rush is us, waking up, and preparing for work, that’s it.
Everything used to be a rush for us but now my daughter has got older she has more of a routine. I think it’s because she’s responsible for getting herself ready now so doesn’t have to work to someone else’s schedule