For those with kids, morning is one of the most stressful times of the day. Not only do you have to get yourself up and ready, you need to rally the children, get them breakfasted, dressed and packed to go, drive them to school and then get yourself to work.
All this, of course, is guaranteed to raise your blood pressure and get your day off to a bad start.
It doesn’t seem to get better as the kids grow older either. Getting teenagers out of bed in the morning can be a major undertaking, not mention having to cope with all those mood changes as you try move them out into the real world.
There are, fortunately, a few things you can do to make sure the school run moves a lot more smoothly in future.
Get It Ready the Night Before
It can be difficult to do if you have busy life but getting everything ready the night before so you’re all good to go in the morning should be top of the list. That includes having bags prepared for school and uniforms ready to put on. If your kids have packed lunches then making these up before you go to bed saves you messing around in the morning when you have better things to do.
Wake Up Earlier and Have Some Me Time
If you’ve ever wondered where all your me time has gone since you had your children, welcome to the club. You can create a little extra space by getting up earlier and taking your time to get ready before the minions get out of bed. This can often set the tone for the day and give you a chance to wake up properly and meet the challenges ahead. If you are less rushed yourself, you are more likely to be more even tempered during the school run.
Don’t Lose Your Temper
Another thing that is easier said than done. Getting angry because your youngest kid is still playing their computer game instead of eating their breakfast or your oldest is reluctant to get out of bed isn’t going to help. Most parents will tell you this can be really irritating but if you can keep an even temper your stress levels will hopefully stay down and things won’t get on top of you.
Give Yourself Enough Time to Drive to School
As well as giving yourself me time, make enough time to do the school run so that you’re not late for work and whatever else you need to do next. The school run can be a hectic twenty or so minutes as several hundred parents suddenly descend on the same location with the same thought – how to get in and out as quickly as possible.
Use a School App
There’s not a parent who hasn’t driven their kids to school only to find a vital bit of kit has been forgotten. The risk of this happening can be reduced if your school has its own dedicated app. This not only allows you to get notifications about planned events but also gives you the chance to see what your kid is doing that day. So, for example, if there’s sports that day, you can check and make sure that all important kit is packed.
The good news is that the school run doesn’t last forever. Your kids will grow up and hopefully will be able to get to school under their own steam at some point. Until that day, keeping a cool head and staying focused is the best that you can hope for.