Working mom's morning routine

sroby

E is not doing well with our morning routine.  She's gotten worse and I think it's because Ian needs attention and she isn't getting as much as she used to.  She has 45 minutes in the morning to get up, get dressed, eat before we need to get out the door.

We lay clothes out the night before.  This is going better. 

She likes to eat breakfast at home, but hasn't been able to lately because she wakes up crabby, takes too long to get dressed, messes around, etc.  Is she about the right age (4.5 yrs) to start telling time and an alarm clock might help?

Getting her shoes on is another big issue.  Everything is a distraction.  We have to ask sometimes 10+ times and she still doesn't listen.  By this time I start getting frusterated because we are running late.  Maybe she is feeding off my frustration.

Maybe this is just normal and a phase.  Any other ideas or suggestions?  Thanks!

SuzEJ

I wonder if a small reward (new toy or something or even something new to eat for breakfast that she picked out) for a good morning would work? Like, reward her when she meets your expectations and make a big deal about how proud you are. A friend of mine with a four year old daughter was just complaining of what you're describing, too, so you're not alone.

SuperCuteBenz

I think it is normal. We have all of the same issues. I usually get her up before Ry that way I can give her a little more attention, but she is a slow poke regardless. It is normally the shoe issue that holds us up too, because she is always wanting to wear crocs or rain boots.

Sorry, I am of no help. We have just started setting out clothes the night before, and giving only 2 options as far as breakfast goes. She is doing better.

jab4ever

My sister in law bought a teacher timer (with 3 lights...) and you can set times for each. That has really helped my niece and nephew get ready in the morning. 

jab4ever

http://www.xump.com/science/TimeTracker.cfm?SID=156

jab4ever

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0053F7Y8S/ref=s9_simh_gw_p21_d0_g79_i5?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0SJMST6M4EQEBRBP3ZTT&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

NebraskaBride06

I can't relate to the 2 children thing... but this has become my routine with Colin to actually get out the door at a decent time ---

- Get myself up and shower
- Turn on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in my room and turn it on loud enough that Colin can hear it from his room
- Go in, turn his lamp on, rub his back and tell him that Mickey Mouse is on
Sometimes, he'll hop right up and go in my room to watch it -- other times he'll lay there for awhile
- That 30 minute episode gives me enough time to get dress, put makeup on and dry my hair and gives him enough time to wake up and not be so crabby
-When Mickey is over... we turn the tv off, head downstairs to let the dog out, put coats and shoes on, and we're out the door. He eats breakfast at daycare so sometimes he'll want a banana as we're leaving.

That routine is pretty rock solid for me.  

brynners

I was going to suggest the timer thing too.

Another thing I saw on Super Nanny was a chart.  The chart had little pictures for each thing, set up in a timeline: making the bed, brushing teeth, getting dressed, eating breakfast, getting on shoes, coat and backpack. There was something like a strip of velcro running along under the pictures and each kid had a little token to move along under each picture as they completed the task.

Teresa

We do races.  Like let's race to see who can get their shoes on the fastest. 

I also tried to explain the concept of being late and the clock and where the hands/time is to show that we don't have much time left.  This works for bedtime too miraculously.