It’s Monday (again). You look at the kitchen clock and swallow down a cup of tea, attempting to put on your clothes realising that you have 5 minutes to get you and your six-year-old dressed and out the door.
You need a Calm Monday Morning.
Sound familiar? No one said being a working parent would be simple, and at Greenwichmums we feel your pain too. So we’ve put together a few easy steps to help you achieve a calm Monday morning balance:
First thing, be prepared. If need be, prepare and pack your children’s lunch the night before. Do washing and ironing at the weekend so that all clothes ready to go; organise at least five outfits or at least two full sets uniforms and have your partner and kids help you in the process. Make it into a game to get the help you need, making it as fun as possible in the process.
Set your alarm 15 minutes early to allow yourself more time. If necessary, go to bed 15 minutes earlier to make up for the difference. Another top tip is to wake up before your kids to get ready and do as much as you can undisturbed!
Keep breakfasts simple and try bananas (and other low-fuss fruit), keep healthy cereal bars handy and ready to grab for you. Or portion up fruit salads and prepare cereal bowls the night before when you tackle the lunches.
Set a routine for your family and stick with it. Our bodies crave routines. Like going to bed at the same time every night and waking up the same time every morning. Sticking with a simple thing like this will make it easier to manage the mornings. Especially if, like me, you are not a morning person at all!
Divide your morning into phases of play! For example, Phase 1: could be Breakfast, followed by getting ready. Set time increments that you can all work with as a family. Doing everything at once with no clear plan leads to confusion. That’s when things get forgotten or missed, or children appear at 8.30am in not a stitch of clothes. Ask everyone to pitch in and help. Keep encouraging them to stick to the morning phases, and things will run nice and smooth.
The key to achieving any balance and not just on a Monday is the preparation. Try a more organised approach to your Monday’s and all your other days and you’ll you will find that they turn out to be a lot smoother and less stressful for everyone!