With the beginning of a new school year upon us, it’s time to get back into a proper morning routine.
How smoothly your morning goes can have a great impact on how your child performs for the rest of the school day. By having a set routine, you’ll help your children to begin understanding what needs to be achieved each morning without chasing after them.
Here are our tips on how to have a stress-free morning routine.
Prepare the Night Before
By getting some of the more time-consuming aspects of school day preparation out of the way, you’ll free up more time for the important things in the morning.
Some of the things you could think about doing the night before include:
- Showering or bathing
- Laying out outfits/school uniform
- Packing book bags or rucksacks
- Preparing snacks and water bottles
It’s also important to ensure your child has a familiar bedtime routine. Studies have shown that having a set bedtime routine gives your child a sense of security that makes them more likely to fall asleep sooner as well as helping them to sleep through the night.
Waking Up
If your child doesn’t like getting out of bed in the morning, then perhaps now is the time to introduce an alarm clock. If your child is used to you coming in and waking them each morning then they’ll know you’re going to come back to wake them as many times as it takes.
This takes precious time out of your morning that could be better spent making sure everything is prepped for the school day.
Try and make sure your child wakes up at the same time each day to get them more used to the routine. If your child finds alarms jarring, you can try making it more pleasant by setting your child’s alarm to their favourite song so they have something nice to wake up to.
The Importance of Breakfast Before School
They don’t call it the most important meal of the day for nothing. Studies have shown that children who have a substantial breakfast before school are better at staying focused throughout the day.
Your child’s breakfast doesn’t need to be complicated or time-consuming. Here are some ideas for a quick but balanced morning breakfast:
- Scrambled eggs on toast
- Overnight oats
- Fruit smoothies
- Yoghurt with fruit
Keep Things in the Same Place
Another handy tip for a stress-free morning (and in general) is to keep things in the same place. By having set spots for things like coats, shoes and bags, you can avoid the panic that ensues when you can’t find your child’s school bag.
Another good way to implement this is by asking your child to leave things in the same place as soon as they get in. For example, having a shoe rack and coat hooks by the door means your child knows that’s the last thing they do before they leave and the first thing they do when they get in.
Not every morning will be entirely stress-free, but, by following these helpful tips, you can at least ease some of that stress of your morning.
If you think your child could benefit from going to a Devon boarding school, then please get in touch with our Director of Admissions & Marketing, Rachel Elliott, on 01395 280335 or by email at rachel.elliott@stpetersprepschool.co.uk.
