Morning routine got you down? Don’t try to be a super parent and do everything for everyone. Help your kids learn responsibility and self sufficiency by giving them their own jobs to do.
In TV shows or movies the parents are up in the kitchen making breakfast, fully dressed ready for work and have lunches packed in a line on the counter.
That. Is. Crazy. I can’t imagine what time those make believe people get up to make all of that happen.
Getting ready in the morning is a race. The goal is to get across the finish line AT ALL.
We’re Growing Functional Adults Here!!
Kids are snowflakes, sponges, unicorns, rare butterflies, etc… No matter what you call them they are pre-adults. I don’t mean they are little grown ups. They’re not, they’re kids. What I mean is they are adults-in-training.
Our jobs as parents are to teach them skills.
I don’t know how many friends I had in college (and the military) that didn’t know how to take care of themselves. There are just too many to count.
Whether it was something as simple as washing their own clothes or grocery shopping, to something a little more difficult like fixing the toilet handle or budgeting for bills. I felt like a mom to my peers because my parents actually gave me chores and made me learn to take care of myself.
Think of yourself after high school. Were you ready to live on your own? Could you manage bills, negotiate a car or house deal, take care of a household/apartment, feed and clothe yourself responsibly. Not that you needed to. Many people go straight to college and defer most of that adult stuff for many years. Only to be thrust out into it with no life skills and possibly a massive student loan debt bill to handle on top of it. talk about stress.
That is exactly why it is so important to teach our children these life skills slowly over the years to build their confidence and competency. So they aren’t overwhelmed by LIFE when its their time to live it.
5 Things Your Kids Can Do on Their Own by the Age of 8
- Make their own lunches
- Set their own alarm clock
- Fold and put away their own laundry
- Make their own breakfast
- Pack their own after school activities/ Sports bags
Let me go into a little more detail on each one.
Make their own lunches
This one takes a little while to get down right. First off, they are kids. Kids want what they want. Which may be a bag of Hot Cheetos and a sweet tea. Us adults know that isn’t an acceptable lunch.
Give your kids parameters to work in. For me personally, that was a checklist of required items and a few spaces for choice. Example: Required- drink, sandwich or other meal item, snack, vegetable, fruit. Choice- 2 items. This may look like rice and chicken, carrot sticks, apple, granola bar, milk, the Hot Cheetos and 10 chocolate chips.
After a few weeks of grooming them to make good choices they will have it down and you can scratch off that task from your to do list each day. I would recommend packing the lunches at night until they get it down well.
Set their own alarm clock
My oldest is 12 now and it’s been over 4 years since I’ve had to get him up for school. Well, consistently. There are still mornings when he sleeps through the alarm, but I can’t blame him for that, I still do that sometimes.
It doesn’t take long to walk to their rooms and tell them to wake up, but what does that teach them? We’re not going to be there at college or when they move out to do that, so they need to start sometime.
Fold and put away their own laundry
This one may not be a typical morning routine but it does help with the entire getting ready process. When kids are responsible for doing their own laundry they know where their clothing is. If they have a uniform they need to wear daily to school or for a game, then they are in charge of whether or not that item is ready to go. This also gives them a chance to organize their own clothing in a way that makes sense to them to cut down on time spent searching for their outfits in the mornings.
If you trust them enough to do the washing part, then go for it.
Make their own breakfast
Cereal, sandwiches, cheese, peanut butter and crackers, nuts, fruit, oatmeal, etc… Sometimes we like to boil eggs the night before and they can peel and eat them on their own in the morning.
They can do this stuff without help. Except maybe for pouring milk from a gallon jug. Sometimes they need help with that. 🙂
Pack for their own after school activities
Sports bags, music lessons, extra clothing, shoes, etc… Kids can do this on their own. AND they can make sure these things get to the vehicles. When they are the ones driving around they will have to be prepared for this. Not only does it encourage responsibility, it also frees up your time.
Responsibility, Self Motivation and Productivity
That’s the name of the game. Fostering growth and achieving potential. Our kids will never know what they are capable of unless we encourage them to reach for better.
Something as simple as chores and accountability can provide a positive setting for them to build on.
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North Carolina, USA