How to Make a Child's Morning Routine Move Quickly

Streamlining your child's morning routine means the difference between a stressful, hurried commute and a relaxed start of the day in which everyone arrives at their destinations on time. Even if you have the routine down to a science, your child may stop to play with his toys, eat breakfast slowly or openly object to completing his morning tasks. If you're tired of running late or nagging your child to get through the morning routine, changing your approach will improve everyone's outlook.

Things You'll Need

  • Timer

Instructions

    • 1

      Complete as many tasks as possible the night before so your child has fewer responsibilities to take care of in the morning. Get in the routine of checking backpacks with your child and preparing them for the next day. Help your child pick out an outfit, shoes and accessories the night before. Handle any administrative tasks, such as signing permission slips or writing a check for lunch money, at this time. When everything is neat and organized, your child can easily complete his tasks in the morning.

    • 2

      Fine tune your morning routine. Go through the morning tasks in your head to determine where he loses time and where you need to make changes. If he dawdles at the breakfast table and runs out of time to get dressed, have him change his clothes first. If he drags his feet getting out of bed, wake him up 10 minutes earlier so he has more time to lounge in bed.

    • 3

      List each step in the morning routine to make your child a checklist. For younger kids, draw pictures to represent each morning task. Laminate the list so it doesn't get ripped or stained. Post the list where it is highly visible so your little one can go through each step.

    • 4

      Offer a rewarding activity if your child successfully completes his routine early. Tell him, "If you complete everything on your morning checklist at least 10 minutes ahead of schedule, you can watch a cartoon before we have to leave." Knowing that he gets to do something that is normally off limits may motivate him to move faster in the morning.

    • 5

      Cheer on your child as he moves through the list. Say, "I like the way you got right out of bed, changed your clothes and sat down for breakfast. You're flying through the morning checklist today." Offer verbal reminders of what he still needs to do. You might say, "After breakfast, you just need to brush your teeth, comb your hair, put on your shoes and grab your backpack."

    • 6

      Set a timer if your child still moves slowly. Tell him, "I am setting the timer for five minutes. You need to get dressed and brush your teeth before the timer rings." You can also use the timer as a game. Challenge him to see how many tasks he can check off the list before the timer rings.

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