mornings

Hmmm - this has been a, shall we say "challenge" at our house as well. Our girls (8 & 10) now take their showers at night and select their outfits for the next day before going to bed. The outfits are hung in the bathroom so they are ready and waiting in the morning (complete with underwear, socks, etc...) Shoes are lined up by the door and the table is set for breakfast. The girls are each responsible for preparing their own things for the next morning and setting the table (Usually right after clearing it from dinner). They willingly trade the 10 minutes at night for the 20 minuets it saves them in the morning. Now if only there was a way to do their hair the night before...:rolleyes: Good Luck! Toby

There are two times during the day where I personally have found that ritural and routine are the best ways to achieve positive results. Those two times would be the bedtime and the mornings for me. I have found that when my children 'know' what to expect it goes much better. So routines are the key for me and I try to keep them even on the weekends and school days off just to maintain the routine. My days are always the same so there isn't much trouble for me. Even with the older children sleeping late is not really very possible--unless they can sleep past the sounds of the lawn mower, vacuume, and music! While I did allwo a certain amount of late mornings....basically there was not a lot of sympothoy for a peerson who stayed up until 2 am playing vedios.... As for the younger cildren--PEOPLE ACTUALLY HAVE A PROBLEM GETTING THEM OUT OF BED IN THE MORNINGS? Huh? There are mornings I would thank my lucky stars if mine slep past 6:30---of course this could be my fault too--the nighttime routine requires young people to be in bed no later then 8:00! I just cannot remember a Non-Teen in my house wanting to sleep in late--my children ARE my alarm clock!