Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone. I'll try the chart idea, as well as incentives.

Q: for those of you who have your kids get dressed before breakfast, how do you avoid getting outfits ruined? I feel like the cereal milk, yogurt drink, ketchup for the eggs, syrup, jam, etc., always gets spilled or on them. Having them eat in PJs has been my solution.

My middle child is a very dirty eater but breakfast is ok, we don't do syrup though....
Plus if she does spill (not just a drop) then I send her for a change, ut otherwise every one is dressed before coming down for bkfast.
+ I have a phone alarm for when it is time to end bkfast and brush teeth, put shoes on etc

Still I hear you!

Anonymous wrote:For those of you whose kids get dressed and then eat breakfast, do you allow peanut butter or other common allergens at breakfast? My son has peanut butter (as do I) almost everyday for breakfast and I get nervous that he will get peanut butter on his clothes and then cause some poor kid to have an allergic reaction. Same for my other kid who has dairy with breakfast and has a kid with a dairy allergy in his class. Or do you just switch to something like dry cereal for breakfast so that you don't have to deal with the allergy issue?

Absolutely not! You're basically saying that no child should have a food ever because it might contaminate someone else someday somewhere. Using that logic, we should just no longer produce PB.

Signed,
A mother whose child has a peanut allergy

This may seem stupid but it works. I wake up at 6:30 and kids are gone by 7:20. When I get up, I tell myself, I can do it for 50 minutes- get them ready and out the door without yelling. I remind myself I have to make it only 50 minutes and really it changes my mindset. I know it will be crazy with breakfast, clothing missing, backpacks but then it's over. And then I'm proud of myself and happy that I did it.

I do pack lunches the night before and leave myself a note for anything else that needs to be done in the morning. That way I'm not too stressed.

Zoloft

More seriously ... getting a handle on my own anxiety was a good start. After that it's getting a consistent routine, getting them down to bed at a proper time the night before, no screens at all, no playing unless you're ready to walk out the door, lots of praise for proactively following the routine.

Anonymous wrote:I just took a PEP class that touched on morning routines. here are a couple things I learned that may help (class was just a couple days ago so I am still trying these out myself)

1) no screens in the morning - for adults or kids.
2) when you have a request for your kid ("go get dressed" or "put cereal bowl in the sink"), walk over to them and get at eye level, touch them and may the request.
3) ask questions like "what else do you need to do to get ready"
4) save the fun stuff (reading, playing a non-electronic game) for after they are 100% ready for school

Good luck!!!

I have 3 DCs -- 3rd grader, 1st grader and a preschooler who wants to walk to the bus stop with us in the morning, so we're all leaving at the same time (8:15). I do most of the above suggestions, plus a PP's suggestion to wake up first and get fully caffeinated before the chaos begins. Preschooler and I wake up around 6:30, I drink coffee and relax while she eats breakfast. DH gets a shower. I get in the shower at 7:00, right around when my older DCs are waking up. DH feeds them breakfast. DCs run around the upstairs, eating breakfast, playing with each other, listening to music, etc. until 7:45 when we kick into high gear. They get dressed and brush teeth and are downstairs packing up their backpacks by 8:10. Although other PPs mentioned keeping everyone on the lower level, we actually keep everyone on the upper level. I have a weird thing where I don't like eating breakfast at a table and need a soft spot -- chair, couch or bed. So since I don't want to be in the kitchen, everyone is upstairs with DH and I.

It really doesn't take that much time to get ready from start to finish. Since they have a solid amount of time to goof off before getting dressed, I think it helps them stay on target when it is time to get serious.

Anonymous wrote:I have an envelope filled with Pokemon cards. For each"good morning " he can grab a new card and bring it to school. He is 8 and Pokemon is the only thing that works.

Most schools ban Pokémon.

When you feel the urge to yell, remember that the best way to get their attention is actually to speak very softly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone. I'll try the chart idea, as well as incentives.

Q: for those of you who have your kids get dressed before breakfast, how do you avoid getting outfits ruined? I feel like the cereal milk, yogurt drink, ketchup for the eggs, syrup, jam, etc., always gets spilled or on them. Having them eat in PJs has been my solution.

You need to teach your kids to be less messy. I have one that is naturally a neater, slower eater, and I have another who has to work a bit harder. Teach them to wait for drippy stuff, make sure they are eating over the table, etc. You could by an art smock, or even just a cheap men's shirt to wear over their clothes in the meantime.

Agreed. I talk a lot about small bites, eating over the plate, the proper place to put the spoon or fork when it's not being used instead of waving it around, etc. And also, they go to school with stained clothes all the time. I just can't bring myself to care. It's not like they're not going to spill at lunch too.

I agree with a lot of this advice and would add, have your kids do more. My 4 year old has a chore list on the fridge for which she gets stickers. Her job is to help with breakfast (getting out bowls and spoons, and we're working up to pouring cereal), to clear her own plate/bowl, and to pack her lunch into her own lunchbox and in turn put that in her backpack. She also can get a few lunch items herself, like a cheese stick from a low drawer in the fridge or a box of raisins. It's small stuff but takes a couple things off my metaphorical plate.

The key is proper incentives for your kids, as others have pointed out. We don't do screens in the morning because they are a huge distraction. My DD will actually forget to move food from plate into mouth when staring at a screen. Not judgy, we use plenty of screens at other times. For my DD, she really likes her hair braided. If she gets all her tasks done, including teeth brushed and shoes on, then we have time. If not, then her hair goes into a regular ponytail and that's it. It's what works for her these days. In 6 months, I'm sure it will be different.

If the issue is spilling food on clothes then get undershirts (it is going to be cold soon) and have them come to the table fully dressed except for overskirts. Overshirts go on as you are heading out the door....1, 2, and 3.

If the iPad is an incentive then whoever is ready first gets the iPad. Done and done!