The Secret to Stress-Free Mornings from the Country’s Most Savvy Moms

With lazy summer mornings replaced by hectic “get everyone out the door” with two minutes to spare wake-up calls, we’re guessing you’ll need more than a cup of coffee to get your brood ready for the morning hustle. We spoke to savvy moms across the country to get their tips on how they conquer their mornings and get back into a groove once school starts. Read on for their tips and hacks, and then share what’s worked for your family in the comment section below.

1. Give Them Choices
Lisa Jackson empowers her kids to make their own choices in the morning. Get dressed or eat breakfast first? Brush teeth or put sunscreen on? By giving her kiddos choices, Lisa tells us that they’re more likely to quickly choose their marching orders and get everything done in time!

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2. Stay Organized & Prep the Night Before
A lot of the savvy moms we spoke to said that their #1 rule for conquering stressful mornings is to stay organized by packing or laying out everything their kids need the night before. We know it’s often easier said than done, but we love this idea. Read below for each mom’s take on this morning tip.
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3. Give Them Their Own Shelf
Trial and error in her morning routine brought Dana Leigh to the realization that by giving her kiddos their own mud room shelf they’re able to keep the morning stress to a minimum. She tells us that each kid has his or her own shelf where all school supplies are kept, including backpacks, shoes, books and coats!

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A post shared by Dana Leigh (@therealdanaleigh)

 

4. Play Tunes
Make your morning a dance party. With just the right tunes, your kids will be distracted by the lyrics and be moving and grooving in no time says Ken Kinzie and April Riehm. What songs would you add to your morning playlist?

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5. Learn By Doing
If you have two littles at home take some advice from Erin Kreitz Shirey: have them learn by doing. Her older one lines up her own shoes, lunch and bag at the door before she brushes her teeth. And now, her littlest one does, too!

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6. Designate School Shoes
Samantha McBride is all about designating one good pair of shoes just for school. That way her kids know what exactly they need to slip on their feet in the morning. Her extra bonus tip: Put ’em near their backpacks so it’s the last thing your kids do in the morning.
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7. Be Efficient
When you have maybe a dozen things to get done in a 15-minute window, you need to multi-task and be efficient, says Kendra Stanton. While her kids chow down on their morning breakfast, she brushes their hair.

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A post shared by Kendra Stanton (@realkendrastanton)

 

8. Ask Your Kids to Dress Themselves
If Junior doesn’t like what you picked out for her to wear, let her choose her own outfits. That’s what Sara Olsher does with her daughter. In fact, her daughter is even responsible for cleaning up the big pile of rejected outfits that inevitably end up on the floor.

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Thanks to their clever parents, these kids are for some awesome mornings. Plus, they’re doing it all in style, outfitted in KEEN Kids’ Encanto shoes. Love the shoes and want to get in on the fun? Click here to see KEEN’s newest collection of school-ready shoes and as an added bonus, get 15% off your order when you use code RedTricycle2016 at checkout. Offer valid July 29-Sept 20, 2016. 

 

What other morning tips should we add to our story? Tell us how you conquer mornings in the comment section below.