Establishing a Morning Routine for your Kids

Mornings…known for being rushed, stressful, and unproductive. But it doesn’t have to be that way! A few years ago, we established a morning routine for our kids and it has made a huge difference in our everyday life.

As a testimonial to how well having an established morning routine works, I want to share a story. A couple years ago, I was pregnant with my fourth child. The morning sickness was so bad, there were many days I didn’t get out of bed until around 10:30 or even later. Our days could have been ruined, but because we had a good, solid morning routine, they weren’t.

I remember many mornings where I would have a child practicing violin by the side of my bed. Every morning, the dishwasher was empty (as long as I’d been able to run it the night before). I knew that the kids were getting at least one or two chores done each day so the house wouldn’t totally fall apart while I was sick in bed.

Having an established morning routine for your children can give you, not only a good morning, but a good rest of your day! Here are some benefits to having an established morning routine.

• A morning routine gets your day off to a good start
• The rest of the day goes more smoothly
• You get your least favorite tasks over with
• You get the most important things done so they’re not forgotten

When should the morning routine happen?

In our family, our morning routine is usually finished before breakfast each morning. I know some people need to eat earlier than our family though, so if that’s the case, plan to do your morning routine immediately following breakfast before anything else can take over your day. Even if you are early eaters, you can probably have your children do some of their tasks before breakfast.

What to include in the morning routine

When choosing tasks, there are a few things to consider. You want to focus on the most important things that HAVE to get done and the things that NEED to get done. We have two segments to our morning. Below you can see what we do in both segments.

• Morning Routine
  • Make beds
  • Feed/water pets
  • Empty the dishwasher
  • Practice violin/piano
  • Quick pick-up of one room (different each morning)
• Morning Time (This is time that we spend together as a family)
  • Devotions
  • Morning prayers
  • Memory verse recitation

How to get started

Getting into a new routine can take some time. If it’s a simple routine, you can probably have the habit established in about a month. Research shows that it can take over two months to establish a more complex routine. All that to say, getting off to a good start is important! Here are some tips to help you succeed.

• Start your routine when you can dedicate at least a week to it. Try not to go anywhere in the mornings on those days if you can help it.
• Create a chart that your children can refer to so they know exactly what to do and in what order to do it. Laminate the chart and hang it on the fridge with a dry erase marker so they can mark off tasks as they complete them. Get your Morning Routine for Kids printable checklist here!
• The night before starting a new morning routine, sit down with your children and walk them through the next morning verbally. Show them their charts so they know exactly what is going to happen and what you expect of them.
• The first few mornings, be very hands on. Make your child’s bed WITH them so they know how to do it. Be in the room while they are feeding the pets so they know you expect them to do a good job. After the first few days, you’ll be able to back off and let them take more control.

What if you need to skip a day (or more)

Things will come up at times where you have to skip your morning routine. Maybe you have an early doctor’s appointment, maybe you had a late night out and the kids don’t get up at the regular time, or maybe you all just want to take some time off of the regular schedule. That’s okay! It’s okay to skip a day, or even a few.

In many instances, it works well to have your children do their morning routine later in the day. If you got up early and ran to the doctor, you can wait until later in the day when you have free time and tell your children to do their morning routine then. They’ll know exactly what to do and will complete those tasks without complaining because they know it’s just part of the day.

With younger children, you may need to re-establish the routine. They may need you to talk the routine through with them and be hands on again for a few days, but they’ll pick it up again quickly, as long as you didn’t wait too long.

The importance of a morning routine

Having a morning routine will not only benefit you and your children now, but will carry into their future and be a help to them all throughout their lives. Imagine if you had been getting up, saying prayers, and making your bed every day for your entire life. Do you think it would be difficult for you to continue that later in life? Establishing a routine with your children will benefit them for years to come.

How about you? Do your kids have a morning routine? I’d love to hear about it in the comments! Tell me what things you include for your kids and how it has helped you.

Get your Morning Routine for Kids printable checklist here!