How things go at home in the morning can set the tone for the day ahead. Children who arrive at school feeling calm, relaxed, fed and ready can make the most of the first few hours of the day.
Children don’t understand time in the same way as grown-ups. This can make school mornings a stressful time of day for families. Time pressures and competing demands can turn mornings into a combat zone.
Getting along in the morning at home will also help you. Research shows that fighting with children in the morning makes it harder for you to work well. It even increases the risk of you having an accident at work.
Here are some ideas to take some of the pressure out of school mornings – even if things don’t always go smoothly!
The night before
Try to find out the night before (or even earlier) if there is something special going on at school.
Prepare lunches and set the breakfast table ready for the morning rush.
Get your child to have a bath the night before. This means you won’t have to worry about this in the morning.
You might know something is going to come up that could cause conflict (such as buying lunch or choosing which clothes to wear). Talk about it the night before when everybody has time and is less likely to be stressed.