When my kids were little, I spent hours trying to teach them to self-settle.
Suck the dummy, suck your fingers - don't care, just sleep! And stay asleep.
Of course at the time I didn't dream that the day would come where I would be begging them to get out of the bed, but here we are and it's soooo hard.
The mornings have been a blur of shouting matches, mismatched socks, tears, can't find my other shoe and of course lunchbox demands.
So after yet another late arrival and disapproving look from the teacher, we sat down as a family and brainstormed ideas together. Some were a bit unrealistic…‚ÄùWhy can't we just fly to school?‚Äù but generally, with a bit of prodding and reward (a mini marshmallow for every great idea), we had a plan, and you know what, it's actually working. So here are my top tips.
Prep everything the night before
And I don't just mean lunches (but that's a no-brainer), think outfits/uniforms, shoes, socks, undies, jackets, the lot!
And that goes for mum and dad too. Less time thinking what to wear to work and more time getting your skedaddle on.
Invest in alarm clocks
Get the kids to choose their own so they actually love it and the sound of the buzzer.
Set it to half an hour before you all need to get up to allow for some extra time just in case.
TV off - music on
TV is the king of distraction so keep it off all morning and only allow music to be played. A bit of Beyoncé in the morning goes down a treat and brightens the mood especially on cold gloomy days.
And most of all leave time for hugs and kisses before drop off.