Beat the Morning Rush
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Chart the Course
Make a Pie Chart: A few years ago, when Chelsey Hagan of Madison, Connecticut, then seven, was having trouble getting organized, mom Lynn helped plan her morning by drawing a pie chart on a paper plate. She and Chelsey assigned an activity to each 5- to 15-minute segment, from "wake up" to "brush teeth" to "out the door."
Over the ensuing weeks, they adjusted the times and tasks until the routine was so smooth Chelsey no longer needed the chart. "It was easy and self-motivating because she could see what amount of time she needed," says Lynn.
You're On the Air: When Katrina Elliott of Pocatello, Idaho, was a child, her mom had a neat trick for getting all nine kids out of the house on time. Every few months, says Katrina, the kids worked together to create a "radio show." Using a tape recorder, they alternated favorite songs with time and task reminders ("There are twenty minutes left: Brush your teeth!").
"It was fun because Mom was not telling us what to do. We were telling ourselves." Katrina's daughter, Abigail, is just six months old, but when she reaches school age, Katrina plans to introduce her to the fun of hosting her own morning show, too.
Stop the Breakfast Crunch
Dad's Breakfast Buffet: Before leaving early for work, David Vining of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, sets the table for breakfast, puts a vitamin at each child's place and leaves out a selection of cereal, muffins, fruit and other goodies. When his four daughters (ages two to nine) come down to eat, they serve themselves from his buffet using small pitchers of milk and juice he filled and refrigerated the night before.
"Even our two-year-old can fill her bowl with dry cereal," says mom Birdie Lynn. David's contribution to the morning helps tremendously, says Birdie Lynn, who uses the breakfast break to get herself ready for the day. "Whereas it only takes him five minutes to put it out, it probably saves me twenty in serving it."
Quick Tips: Encouraging kids to read while they eat, or reading to them, is a simple bickering-buster that several readers swear by.
Mom's Menu: Every morning, Krystyna McPhall of Stoughton, Massachusetts, used to struggle to get her six-year-old twins to decide what they wanted for breakfast. One day, in frustration, Krystyna grabbed a piece of paper, folded it in half, scrawled "Menu" on the cover, and listed the usual choices inside.
"To my surprise, Robert and Samantha instantly made their decisions," says Krystyna. Over the next few weeks, she refined the list, typed it up, and made two copies. Mom's Restaurant is now open for business daily, and even the waitress is satisfied.
Prompted by similar desperation, Diana Treadway of St. Ann, Missouri, stuck a wipe board on the side of her refrigerator, where every day she lists the breakfast choices for Joshua, 13, and Alysha, nine. Her eatery offers pancakes (cooked in bulk, frozen, then popped in the microwave) and omelets (with add-ins, such as meats and vegetables, precut, frozen in separate bags and tossed in as desired). For kids and Mom, it's been a real stress reducer.
Quick Tips: It may be obvious, but scores of readers reminded us that a regular and reasonable bedtime really does work wonders on morning madness.
Charlotte Merryman is a contributing editor for FamilyFun.
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