Tips for getting kids back into school routine


by Gina DeMent, Public Information Officer
Five County Mental Health Authority

Need help getting your kids out the door in the mornings?

It won’t be long now before the lazy days of summer give way to the rushed mornings of the school year. There are lunches to prepare, hygiene to remember, getting dressed, breakfast to be eaten and last minute mishaps to take care of.

What’s a typical morning like in your house? Is it easy and orderly or chaotic and rushed? For most of us, it is the latter, especially if we are also preparing ourselves to go out the door to work at the same time. Here are some tips which you may be able to use, beginning with doing as much as you can the night before.

  • Tip 1– Select clothes the evening before. Whether your child is 4 or 14, getting dressed in the morning can be a huge struggle. Kids can take forever to pick out an outfit, and even longer to pick one that meets your standards. Helping your kids pick their clothes the evening before can prevent a great deal of the stress in the morning. If older kids need to wash or iron clothes, they will have time to do it.
  • Tip 2 – Bathe the night before, if possible. Of course, as kids gets older they will probably want to shower in the morning, so make sure they get up early enough to do that or they will also need to do that the night before. Make bath time a part of your evening routine with younger children. It is also a good way to start winding them down for bedtime.
  • Tip 3 – Plan for lunch the night before. If kids are buying their meals at school, all you will need to do is make sure that they have their lunch money in their book bag or someplace where they’ll know where it is the next morning. If you know what you are going to fix for your kids the next morning because you figured it out the night before, it will make mornings much easier. Some things can even be put in the lunch box the night before.
  • Tip 4 — Check homework and pack the book bags the night before. That will also give you a chance to look at their homework and talk with them about it and how things are going in school. Always decide on a place to put book bags and school-related things fairly close to the front door, if possible. That way kids just have to grab them on the way out. There is nothing worse than having to search everywhere for things that you don’t remember where you last put them.
  • Tip 5 — Stick to a bedtime routine. Children need at least 8 hours of sleep to be prepared for school and ready to learn and pay attention. If your kids have been staying up later in the summer, begin a couple of weeks before school starts getting them to bed earlier and at the same time each night. Also, kids do like routine, and they will get used to doing things a certain way which makes it easier for everyone the next morning. The routine could be bath, brush teeth, story time or chat time, maybe reading time and then bedtime — lights out. Older kids may watch TV or be on the computer, but they still need a regular bedtime.
  • Tip 6 — Add a little extra time in the morning for unexpected things that may happen. Get up 15 minutes earlier if needed to prevent the stress which often leads to you and the kids going to school and work upset with each other. Start out the school year with a morning routine and it will make the days much easier for everyone.
  • If you would like specific information on parenting issues or would like to attend a free parenting class, please contact Anne Williams, Prevention Specialist, Five County Mental Health at 252.430.3077.