How to have a drama-free morning with my 8 y/o daughter?!?

[Anonymous]

to ppl that suggested earlier bed time: OP said she has done that already and I'm not a morning person either so I know that this technique simply doesn't work!!!!!
the clock that lights up gradually is a wooooonderful idea though...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your 8 year old has an itouch?

Don't even get me started on this one. My soon to be ex-H *had* to get her one for Xmas, despite how ridiculous it is to give her a $200 gadget with web access, no less. Another source of power struggle and he prevailed.

Co-parenting with a Disney dad is going to be oh, so much fun....

[Anonymous]

OP, if anyone should be upset and apologzing t should be the teachers for not paying attention. Not your fault at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She has never liked getting up in the morning and it's getting worse. She whines, complains, throws a fit, stomps around, it's all more than I can handle with two other kids who are also trying to get ready in the morning. My other two don't like getting up either, but they seem to understand it is part of life and not worth the repeated nonsense day after day.

Literally, she will lie in bed until the very last minute, then she doesn't like what I've picked for her to wear (she can also pick but then that never works either b/c she can't find the thing she wants, etc), then she doesn't like her breakfast, won't brush her hair or her teeth, it's just EXHAUSTING fighting this same battle daily.

I've tried natural consequences (being tardy to school - she doesn't care), making her miss or be late for her fun activities, etc. I've tried harsher penalties at home if she starts drama in the AM, tried an alarm clock in her own room, getting her up earlier so she can warm up slowly, letting her sleep as late as humanly possible, going to be earlier, etc.

I don't know what else to do, but I'm SICK of her attitude and it's effect on the other kids and my mood. She's 8 years old, and acts like a moody, bitchy teenager already. HELP!!

Wake her up first before everyone else and have her take a shower in addition to having everything laid out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
OP I was an AP for a girl like this and I feel your pain. I'm not a morning person myself so I can totally relate but life goes on and they have to understand.
What helped us a lot was to pick the clothes and prepare the backpack the night before and have her chose the bfast menu in advance for the week.
Also, the less I interacted the better: I would walk in and say "you have to be up in 10min" walk back in 10 min and say "time to brush hair/teeth" the lesser talk the more action from her I would get. It was always funny to see her running down the driveway towards the bus stop swallowing a granola bar whole or brushing her hair.
Praising her baby sister in front of her while she got ready on her own worked too. The little one was always happy and ready to help in the morning so eventually the drama queen got the clue.
Not that we suddenly had a princess joining us for bfast every morning but it got a lot better since. Also with Spring coming along I hope you can have some extra smiles in the morning GL.

What does "AP" stand for? I've seen it a few times and just can't guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
OP I was an AP for a girl like this and I feel your pain. I'm not a morning person myself so I can totally relate but life goes on and they have to understand.
What helped us a lot was to pick the clothes and prepare the backpack the night before and have her chose the bfast menu in advance for the week.
Also, the less I interacted the better: I would walk in and say "you have to be up in 10min" walk back in 10 min and say "time to brush hair/teeth" the lesser talk the more action from her I would get. It was always funny to see her running down the driveway towards the bus stop swallowing a granola bar whole or brushing her hair.
Praising her baby sister in front of her while she got ready on her own worked too. The little one was always happy and ready to help in the morning so eventually the drama queen got the clue.
Not that we suddenly had a princess joining us for bfast every morning but it got a lot better since. Also with Spring coming along I hope you can have some extra smiles in the morning GL.

What does "AP" stand for? I've seen it a few times and just can't guess.

Au Pair?

[zumbamama]

I give mine 10 min snooze time as he wakes up to Transformers music. Then after 10 min I say, "wake up Optimus Prime," in my robot voice, "the Decepticons are coming...we must power up in the water chamber (shower), put on our disguise (get dressed), and fuel up (eat). That usually gets him up with a smile.

DD is harder to wake up, so I started putting her to bed earlier and I give her 20 min snooze time. When it's time to get up, I rub her back and tell her good morning, sleeping beauty....let's put on your princess clothes. Or sometimes I pretend I'm a cat and meow at her to wake up. She likes classical, so I that's what I play. Works much better than when I used to just turn on the lights and say, "Time to wake up," a million times and she'd wake up in a bad mood.

My Dad used to wake me up with a wet wash cloth to my face and bad singing...and I would make up mad. So I try to make DCs waking up experience relaxing and fun.

[Anonymous]

Take a course with PEP Parent Encouragement PRogram and see if they can help. It sounds like you might be helped by a little professional advice.

[Anonymous]

OP - I just wanted to chime in and say that I was like your daughter growing up. My mom stayed home, and we lived in a small town and school was like a mile away, so our mornings weren't rushed. But I HATED getting up. My brother and I both slept so much during our childhoods....but the pediatrician said it was fine. We had bedtime routines, bedtimes, etc., but we were just tired in the morning. I can remember my mom literally getting me dressed while I laid in bed.

As I got older I needed less sleep. Now I don't get as much as I need (I should be in bed now!) but I can usually do okay with 7 hours and try to squeeze in naps when grandparents are around to watch my toddler! I offset as much as I can with healthy eating and exercise which gives me energy, but I do just like free time at night so I go to bed later than I want.

Anyway, I just wanted to chime in to say don't blame yourself - you can try early bedtime but some kids are just not morning people.

The weird thing is, now that I'm an adult, I'm a total morning person. Before I had baby I got up and went running or hit the gym - I loved that time even when I could have slept later. And, I used to not be able to eat breakfast when I was little, I just wasn't hungry until lunch, and as an adult breakfast is my favorite meal!

[Anonymous]

zumba how old are your children?

[Anonymous]

Going to bed early and getting enough sleep is definitely key. I can't jackhammer my my 9 yr old DS out of bed if he doesn't get enough sleep, and the attitude I get then sets my teeth on edge. He goes to bed regularly at 7:30 pm. Yep, you read that right, 7:30 pm, to get up at 7:00 am. Children at that age are still supposed to get 10 - 11 hours of sleep per night, and probably 90% of children don't.

[Anonymous]

I posted earlier and I have my 7 year old in bed every night at 7pm. We read and lights are out by 7:30pm. She wakes up 6:50am-7:00am like clockwork every day.