School has started…how are your mornings going?
An organized start to the day at home gives your child the best start to their preschool day as well. A good morning routine works for the whole family. Here are a few things to think about as you establish one that works for your family. First and foremost, you need to give everyone some time to get going in the morning. This means getting enough sleep, and preparing the night before. What parts of your morning are difficult? Clothing choices? Breakfast choices? What can be done the night before and what parts of the morning routine can your child be invested in? As children grow, they can help with more and more of the morning routine and make more decisions of their own that fit into the requirements and time parameters you provide.
Realistically, what can your child do independently? If your child picks out clothes with you the night before, can he or she dress on their own in the morning? Maybe after your child puts on pants, you help with the shirt. It’s all very individual depending on motor skills, where you are with potty training, and how independent your child is. The bottom line is; encourage that independent streak and reassess regularly. If your child can dress independently, but the shirt is on backwards, who cares? That will be fixed before it matters socially, but children who are continually corrected, may well get frustrated and not want to even try to get dressed on their own. It is faster for you to dress your child, but that doesn’t provide growth for either of you. Allow time for your child to use his or her current abilities while you take care of other things that need your attention in the morning.
Here’s a nice article about setting up a good morning routine…
https://afineparent.com/lighten-up/morning-routine-for-kids.html
We’ll go over some basic information about evening routines in the next blog. A good night’s sleep helps set everyone up for a good morning!