Tips for Lessening the Madness of Your Family's Morning Rush
By
Relationship Advice Expert April MasiniQ: Dear April Masini,
Mornings in our house are a mad rush; by the time the kids are finally off to school, I feel like I need a nap. I have four kids, each one attending a different school. It's such a pain getting them out of bed, helping the little ones get dressed, making sure they all eat a nutritious breakfast, and getting them all in the car so I can drop them off at their respective schools. Do you have any advice for how we can make our mornings a little less hectic?
Sincerely,
Morning Madness
A:
Dear Morning Madness,
Getting through the morning is something most families need help dealing with! It's no fun starting your day off in a crazy and hectic way -- every day. Fortunately, there are many small things you can do to make your mornings a bit easier -- on the whole family.
Morning Rush Hour Tips:
1. Make sure you have an alarm clock that works.
2. Make sure all of your children have alarm clocks that work. Set them.
3. Have everyone in the family put out their clothes the night before. No exceptions. This eliminates the "I have nothing to wear," or "I have nothing clean to wear" problem.
4. If you drink coffee, get a coffee pot with a timer on it -- one that makes the coffee for you at a certain time each morning.
5. Make sure you have plenty of breakfast food the week before. Breakfast does not have to be homemade. Frozen waffles, toast, breakfast bars, cereal and milk, and fruit are all things everyone can grab for themselves, and don't have to be cooked.
6. Open up your mind as to what breakfast looks like. There's nothing really wrong with cold pizza or cold Chinese food for breakfast. You won't make it to the Norman Rockwell family eating breakfast portrait, but you and your kids will have had a breakfast that is reasonably nutritious.
7. Don't enable or reward tardiness. If someone in your family is late, don't continue to make everyone else late by waiting for them time after time, and it's not irresponsible to leave without them (meaning, they're not toddlers or going to be home alone), arrange for them to be late. Don't write a late note for a child who continues to be tardy. Let them understand the consequences of their behavior in the bigger world.
April Masini -- nicknamed "the new millennium's Dear Abby" by the media, is author of the best-selling books Date Out Of Your League and Think & Date Like A Man, the two (just released) step-by-step dating and relationship manuals, Ideas for a Fun Date and Romantic Date Ideas,
and the critically acclaimed dating and relationship online magazine www.AskApril.com.
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