Reply to Working parents: how do you have the energy to do it all?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Wait what time are you actually going to sleep? 9pm? that’s too early for an adult! We sleep 11-7. Sometimes 10:30. (I wake at 7:30)

We definitely clean and work for 2 hours after kids go to sleep. But yeah, life is hard and not easy. I’m dying to come home to a cooked meal. Neither of us telework. [/quote]

I don't know any adult with children who sleeps in until 7:30 unless it's summer, they don't work, and their kids are in high school.[/quote]

Me! I'm the working mom of three from up-thread (kids are 6, 4, and 1).

I wake up at 7:30am every day year round, and so does my husband (unless one of us is sleeping in on a weekend). All three kids get up at that time, too (we do not mess around about sleep training, and the oldest two have okay-to-wake clocks that turn green at 7:30). Both my husband and I can get ready in 10-15 mins in the morning. He takes a quick shower (like 2 mins), and we throw clothes on, brush teeth and hair, and that's about it.

We have super-simplified our morning routines (see - "things I don't do" from my initial post). One of us handles the big kids first thing, the other the baby, and we alternate. Baby person gets baby up and dressed, and then makes a simple breakfast for the kids. Big kid person makes sure the big kids are up, tells them the weather and any special clothing requirements, assists if they need help (they generally don't) and simultaneously gets themselves ready. We all converge in the kitchen by 8am. Three kids eat, big kid person assists/monitors as needed and also does our daughter's hair. Baby person goes to get ready. By 8:15, breakfast is done, everyone's ready, and we've got about 5 minutes for final stuff (pack backpacks and work bags, get shoes/coats on) and we're all out the door at 8:20.

We both work hybrid with an alternating schedule - one person is always WFH and one is always at the office each day. The office person heads to the office, the home person does drop off. Both our work days start at 9am.

I think this is a good demonstration of my larger point - prioritize (sleep is basically our #1 priority, for everyone) and streamline (it is possible to get a family of five out the door in 50 mins if you keep it to the basics). Yea, my hair hasn't been styled in a way that takes more than 60 seconds in the past 6 years. But I'm well rested![/quote]

Ok... Our bus comes at 7:20 during the school year so we can't all wake up at 7:30 and neither can the parents of all the kids at our private school (some buses come earlier, we are one of the last stops on our route).[/quote]

PP here. 7:20?!?! That SUCKS. Makes me glad to be in DC where all schools start at a reasonable hour, and we just take city buses or walk. That is terrible, especially for teens who should absolutely be asleep then. [/quote]

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