It Starts When They Walk Through the Door the Afternoon Before

Start getting everything ready as soon as they’ve walked in through the door if you are at home. Or as soon as you walk in through the door if you go out to work.

Even very little children can do tasks that can help

• Before they have any snacks, get them to take their school lunch box and water bottle out of their bag ready for you to wash up. Older kids can empty any wrappers from their lunchbox and even wash it up themselves.
• If they have a school uniform they can get changed. Any clean items of their uniform can be laid out ready for the next day.
• Their shoes can be put in the place they’ll need them the next morning. If you have time and the shoes need it, it’s a good time to give them a wipe.
• If they have homework, they can take it out of their bag, and put ready to do later on in the evening.

The more they can do when they get in from school, the less there is to do later in the evening. Getting kids to build good habits at this point can save oodles of time in the years following.

If they are put everything away in the right place, it’s unlikely homework, lunch boxes and reading books are going to get lost and you won’t need to look for them later.

Get Everything Ready the Night Before

You can build on what you did when you walked in the door and get everything ready later on in the evening that you haven’t already. If everything is in order, you’ll be able to manage any disturbances that happen in the morning much easier.

Have a checklist

• School bags and pencil cases
• PE Kits
• Lunch boxes and water bottle (I do some of the lunch boxes in the morning but you can get snacks or anything that’s already wrapped in the box the evening before)
• Homework
• Clothes laid out
• Shoes by the door
• Child bathed and clean
• Anything else they need the next day

Get Everything Ready for You Too

Get all your stuff ready as well. Pick out your clothes and decide what you’re going to do with your hair. You can waste a lot of time deciding what you’re going to wear in the morning, so decide the night before.

Keep Your Routine Simple

One of my mistakes on the school run is I used to spend ages showering, washing and drying my hair which would be the thing that would make us late.

My tip now would be to learn a quick and simple hair style that works for you and looks good. It might mean you have to spend a few hours learning to plait your hair or do something else. But practice something like that and then you can do it quickly. Also, it’s fine not to wash your hair everyday. Dry shampoo is your friend.

If you’re not going to work after the school run, a hat is a brilliant item to have. In the Winter, a woolly hat looks great and it means you don’t have to do your hair until later. The other idea is a baseball cap in the summer months – if you can pull it off.

Keep Breakfast Simple

Cereal is often the easiest breakfast. It’s quick. Kids like it. You can clean up after easily. Nowadays there are lots of reduced sugar versions. If cereal isn’t your thing, choose something else that’s easy and kids love and will eat. It will save the battles over food and saves time making it.

You can also set out everything you need for breakfast (glasses, cereal, bowls, spoons etc) the night before too.

Have Breakfast and Brush Teeth Before They Get Dressed

Maybe your kids aren’t as messy as mine. Or maybe everybody does this anyhow. But my kids always had a knack of spilling milk down their jumper or toothpaste on their shirt meaning that we would need a last minute clothes change. I rearranged my morning routine, so the kids ate and brushed their teeth before they put their school clothes on, eliminating the problem

A Scooter could be your best friend

Kids love scooters. If you walk to school and you find it hard to get your little one walking quick enough, try a scooter or a bike. They will go quicker and you will need less time to get there.

If you drive to school, it can be a nightmare parking around the school gates. A less stressful school run could involve parking a little further away and getting on the scooters for the last part of your journey.

Timer

If your kids are dawdling in the morning, try making getting ready into a game. Can they get ready before the timer buzzes? Can they beat you getting ready? And who can win out of their brother’s and sisters? This may not work every morning but can be useful every now and again to make getting ready more fun.

Have a No Screen Rule in the Morning

Screens can make it very difficult to get kids moving. Make it a habit that there are no screens in the morning. There may be some resistance at first. But in the long run, they won’t remember that it’s an option to have screens in the morning and the school run will go much more smoothly.

Meet A Friend

If you walk to school in the morning, can you meet one of your child’s friend’s along the way? My son loves meeting his friend to walk to school in the morning. It’s great motivation for him to get out of the door.

Music Can Be Fun

Sometimes music can cheer everybody up and get people moving. A cheerful tune often changes the morning from stressful to fun!

Have a Flannel (or wipes) near the door

So you’re all ready to step out the door. You look at your child and they have a snotty nose or dirt on their face. It is really helpful to just have something nearby you can use to wipe their face before you leave – just in case.

Aim to Leave 10 Minutes Before You Need To

Get it in your head that your leaving time is 10 minutes earlier than it needs to be. Then if a disaster happens or your child refuses to get dressed you have some leeway. If things go well, you can take your time getting in the car or walking to school and it will be a lot less stressful.