5 simple family morning routine ideas that save time
Mornings with kids can quickly turn into a race against the clock. Everyone needs to get dressed, eat breakfast, find their shoes, pack their bags, and get out the door on time. A simple family morning routine can take some of that pressure off, by giving everyone a clear idea of what needs to happen and when.
Having a morning routine isn’t about creating a complicated schedule, or trying to make every morning run perfectly. It’s about finding a few simple habits that work for your family, and make the things you already do feel easier.
In this post you’ll discover five simple family morning routine ideas that can help you save time, and reduce morning chaos.
You’ll learn how to create a routine that works for your family, prepare for busy mornings the night before, help your kids become more independent, and make getting out the door quicker.
Whether your mornings currently feel rushed, or you simply want them to run more smoothly, these practical kids morning routine ideas will help you create a calmer, more manageable start to the day, without adding another complicated system to your to-do list.
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What is a family morning routine?
A family morning routine is a set of tasks and habits your family follows every morning to get ready for the day.
It might include things like:
- Getting dressed
- Making beds
- Eating breakfast
- Brushing teeth
- Packing school bags
- Taking medication or vitamins
- Feeding pets
- Putting on shoes and coats
- Leaving the house
You can have different routines for different types of mornings.
For example, a school morning routine might be structured and time pressured, while a weekend morning routine might involve less tasks, and be much more relaxed.
RELATED POST: 10 simple morning routine ideas for mums
What are the benefits of routines?
Some of the benefits of having a routine include:
They save time
When everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing, there’s less time spent deciding, searching, and waiting.
They reduce mental load
If you’re the person in your home responsible for remembering everything, then a morning routine can take some of those reminders off your plate.
It helps children become independent
Routines give children an opportunity to take responsibility for age appropriate tasks.
It makes mornings more predictable
There will always be chaotic mornings, but having a predictable routine means unpredictable moments don’t have to derail the entire morning.
It makes mornings calmer
This is my favourite reason for having a family routine, which is that it makes mornings less stressful because everyone knows what needs to happen by when.
5 simple family morning routine ideas
Here are five morning routine ideas that you can try with your family.
Create a morning checklist
If you find yourself repeating the same things every morning, a morning checklist can make a big difference to how stressful your morning gets.
Instead of asking your kids to get dressed, brush their teeth, put their shoes on, or pack their school bags, you can provide them with a morning checklist as a reminder of what they need to do.
Some tasks you can place on your kid’s morning checklist include:
- Put pyjamas away
- Eat breakfast
- Brush teeth
- Brush hair
- Get dressed
- Pack school bag
You don’t need to include every task that makes up your morning, simply providing your kids with enough information to keep them moving through the morning is enough.
For younger kids a picture based routine chart works well, my favourite is this morning routine chart, which allows you to change the tasks on it to suit your family’s needs.
For older children this morning routine checklist works well, and is also customisable to your family’s needs.
The best place to put your checklist is somewhere your entire family can see it, like in their bedroom, in the kitchen, or near the front door.
Prepare the night before
This is something I do every evening to make mornings less chaotic, which is to complete a few jobs in the evening, so I have less to do in the morning.
Some things you can do each night to make the morning easier include:
- Laying out clothes
- Packing school bags
- Checking homework
- Preparing school lunches
- Filling water bottles
- Putting PE kits by the door
- Putting shoes and coats where they’re easy to find
READ MORE: Simple evening routines to make mornings easier
Repeat breakfasts
A great way to make mornings less stressful is to have a small rotation of breakfasts, or even easier, have the same breakfast each morning.
As part of my family’s morning routine every school morning my kids have the same breakfast, one has waffles and fruit, the other has cereal and toast.
If your kids prefer to have different breakfasts each morning, try rotating a few different breakfast combinations, for example:
- Monday: cereal and fruit
- Tuesday: toast and yoghurt
- Wednesday: porridge and banana
- Thursday: cereal and fruit
- Friday: toast and yoghurt
You can also make breakfasts easier by keeping breakfast items stored together, like placing bowls and cereal together where your children can reach them, keeping different types of fruit in one container (I use this clear container with handles so my kids can carry it on their own), and preparing any breakfast items in advance, such as cutting fruit the night before.
Set up a morning essentials drop zone
If you spend too much time in the morning searching for shoes, coats, bags, and water bottles, then setting up an area in your home where all these items live is a must have.
Having a shoe basket, entryway hooks, or a storage bench near your front door makes finding morning essentials a breeze, and ensuring each item is placed back in this zone after use makes the next morning run smoothly.
Give everyone a task
Giving each family member a small job that needs to happen before leaving in the morning goes a long way towards making mornings less stressful.
Here are some age appropriate tasks that you can allocate to your children in the morning:
- Clear breakfast dishes
- Put pyjamas away
- Put lunch in school bag
- Take school bag to car
- Make beds
- Place dishes in the dishwasher
- Feed pets
READ MORE: 11 family routines to simplify family life
Tips for making morning routines work
Creating a morning routine is one thing, but getting everyone to follow it is another.
Here are some tips you can try to make it easier for your family to follow a morning routine:
Start with one change
Think about what causes you the most stress in the morning, and choose a morning routine idea that helps you with it.
For example, if you have trouble finding things in the morning, then setting up a morning essentials drop zone will help you locate what you need.
Or if you’re sick of repeating instructions to family members, then starting a morning checklist will help.
And if you’re always running out of time, then doing some tasks the night before will reduce what you need to do in the morning.
Keep your routine simple
A morning routine should make family life easier.
If your routine has too many steps, you’ve probably gone too far.
Give your children time to learn
It will take some time for your children to independently do what they need to.
Be prepared for pushback, and to still need to occasionally remind them what they need to do.
Over time you can gradually reduce the amount of reminders you give them, until one day you don’t need to give any.
Keep the routine flexible
School holidays, weekends, appointments, and unexpected events will have an impact on your morning routine, and that’s totally normal.
You don’t need to abandon your routine every time something derails it, just return to your normal routine when you can.
Don’t aim for perfect mornings
This is probably the most important tip, and one that I remind myself of constantly.
Even with a morning routine, some mornings will be chaotic, someone will forget something, someone won’t want to get dressed, and someone will remember about a school project that’s due today.
That’s family life.
A good routine doesn’t eliminate every problem. It simply gives you a system to fall back on when things get busy.
Family morning routines – a recap
A good family morning routine doesn’t have to be complicated. The aim isn’t to create a perfectly organised morning where everyone follows a timetable without a single complaint. It’s simply a way to make things you already do easier.
A simple morning checklist can help children know what’s expected of them, while preparing school bags and clothes the night before can remove some of the morning rush.
A predictable breakfast routine can save decisions, a morning essentials drop zone can stop the daily search for shoes and coats, and giving everyone their own jobs can help take some of the responsibility off your shoulders.
You don’t need to introduce all five of these ideas at once. Start with the part of your morning that causes the most stress and choose one change that could make it easier, and give your family time to get used to it, then build from there.
Most importantly, remember that a successful morning routine is one that works for your family. Some mornings will be messy, someone will forget something, and plans will change – that’s normal.
Ready to get more organised?
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Which of these family morning routine ideas would save you the most time?
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