How to get kids ready and out of the house when they have turned feral
This week my 3 older children have been at a football training camp which has started at 9am every day. 9AM! Now my children are all early risers (the eldest has only slept past 7am a couple of times in his entire life and the baby usually gets everyone up at 5.30), however, we all seem to have forgotten how to get ready and out of the door on time. We were those ones who were always early for school that started at 8.45. All bags would be organised and by the front door the night before, clothes laid out the night before so that the mornings could be a leisurely (non stressful) affair. However, all these routines have been forgotten. And every day this week there has been children lounging around naked with furry teeth and no sun cream on a few minutes before we are due to leave. There has been some raised voices, some stress and lots of rushing. Not what I envisioned when I booked the football week, imagining myself swanning around with only 1 baby to look after.
My partner rolls his eyes every time I introduce a new rule, but I can feel myself mentally writing out a whole sheet of new rules. Technically, these aren’t new rules but recycled rules that have been forgotten about during the feral period that has been the last few months of lockdown. We have also moved house recently and so for some reason, rules that existed in the old house have not been carried over to the new house. Such as everyone is responsible for putting their plates, bowls, cutlery etc in the dishwasher after meals. Currently, after breakfast, there is detritus left all over the table (and usually all over the floor too).
My new (or recycled) rules are to be:
Clothes on and teeth brushed before any audio book goes on in the morning. I have a no TV rule in the morning (another rule!!) but they like listening to audio books
Breakfast must be totally cleared away afterwards
Clothes must be laid out the evening before (although this is not so easy when they are doing football and only have one kit which must be washed every evening)
This is more a rule for me: Start cueing them to put shoes etc on 10-15 minutes before you need to leave. This sounds like a long time but my children can easily make putting shoes (and sun cream) on last this long!
We used to have a ‘bed made and PJs folded in the bathroom’ rule too but it feels like I need to reintroduce them to normal life slowly
I am very aware this entire thing makes me sound like such a bore (they think this too!!), but better to be boring than stressed, right?
Hopefully we can get some semblance of normality in the mornings before they (hopefully) go back to school in Sept.