Just like adults, not all preschoolers are morning people! Some are cranky in the mornings; others are slow. Trying to get an uncooperative preschooler out the door and to school on time can be a challenge. But if you prepare ahead of time, you can make the mornings easier on your little one. Here’s what you need to know.
1. Do as Much as Possible the Night Before
Have your child’s clothing, shoes, bag, and other items ready to go the night before. This way, your preschooler can get dressed faster and more efficiently. This also prevents meltdowns when a shoe is missing, or they can’t find their favorite sweater on the way out the door.
2. Follow a Routine
Preschoolers thrive on routines. Establish a clear, consistent routine for school mornings so that your child will know what to expect. This will allow your child to be more independent in the morning and may reduce arguments.
3. Give Choices
Preschoolers love to make choices about things that affect their lives. When they have choices, many become more cooperative and compliant. Give your child ownership over their morning routine by allowing your child a choice of weather-appropriate clothing and shoes.
Doing this will prevent the “but I don’t want to wear that!” argument. To avoid issues with food, allow your child to choose what they will eat for breakfast and lunch.
4. Don’t fuel the Drama
Getting a kid out of bed can be incredibly frustrating. However, you lose in two ways if you fall into the habit of yelling at them to get up. First, that will make them burrow further in bed to avoid you. Then over time, you train them to ignore you.
5. Practice
Young children learn best through experience. Ask your child to practice their morning routine, either by replicating it on weekend mornings or simply by pretending it is morning at a different time of the day. Turn this into a game and use a stopwatch to time your child’s speed, and then challenge your child to beat their best time.
6. Allow Them to Earn Time for a Preferred Activity
Reward your child if they’re ready before it’s time to go out the door by allowing them to have time for a preferred activity. Give them a few minutes of screen time or time to play with a favorite toy. If there isn’t enough time, you could also allow your child to earn a preferred activity that they can do in the car on their way to preschool.
7. Simplify Breakfast
Shave time off your morning routine by switching to foods that you can make in advance, like overnight oats or make-ahead breakfast bars. Stay away from foods that have to be made on the spot, like eggs or toast. This will free up more time for you to be active in your preschooler’s morning routine, so it will be easier for you to keep them on task.
8. Make Sure They Sleep Enough
If your child still struggles with their morning routine after you implement these suggestions, your child may be overly tired. Move your child’s bedtime to an earlier time, and see if getting an extra half an hour to an hour of sleep makes the morning go more smoothly.
While you examine sleep schedules, take a look at your own. If you feel off in the mornings, your child may be responding to (and mirroring) your emotional state. Go to bed earlier, and get up with enough time to have a cup of coffee before waking your child for the morning.
If your child has a hard time getting up, have them come up with a list of things they will do to help themselves get out of bed on time. Changing to an earlier bedtime may help. Putting the alarm clock across the room, instead of next to the bed, may also help. Have your child pack their pre-school snack/lunch, pick out their clothes and organize their backpack the night before so that they don’t have to do it in the morning. Remember to put the responsibility for getting up in the morning on your child. If you do it all for them, they have no reason to do it themselves.