Hey, Michelle, got any magical advice on how to make the morning and bedtime routine less crazy???
Hahaha. I don’t exactly feel like I should be the person you should ask. ? There is not a lot of magic around here during our morning and bedtime routines!!
Well, not here either. ? In fact, it usually ends in frustration… I just keep wondering if I’m missing something. I don’t want the beginning and end of the day to be so stressful.
I’m so glad you said that because I often feel like – what is wrong with me that I can’t get this to go more smoothly?!
I know… I usually end up mad at the kids for being the king and queen of procrastination, and mad at myself for getting mad at them.
I hear ya and I’m right there with you. But you know what I’ve been doing recently? I’ve been asking God to help me understand what is underneath my frustration. Like why am I so annoyed that we are late out the door again? Or why am I annoyed that she is asking for one more drink of water??
That’s a really good question. I always thought that I was so annoyed because I have already gotten them THREE drinks in the past 10 minutes. Each. So that’s a total of NINE drinks????????? and toss in FOUR back rubs and FIVE random math questions. Can I just confess that last night I ended the night with Benjamin asking me for something and me yelling “NO!” from the hallway??? I don’t even know what he was asking for at that point.
Haha. I know every mom can relate to that! ?
Well thanks. Truthfully, I think by 9 pm I just want some space. I want to go do something adult.
ME TOO. I tell my hubby I just want to clock out! The morning and the nighttime routine require a lot of hands-on parenting and corralling and it can be exhausting. And when my girls don’t operate like robots, it can be annoying! ?
LOL! #truth
Ha, I’m kinda laughing that I wrote that, but really, it’s good for me to think about because – am I really crouching down and seeing what they each need during these frenzied moments or just expecting them to efficiently carry out my orders?
Oh, I know. That’s me for sure in the morning – Drill Sergeant Mom! And how have I been waking them up lately? Well the alarm goes off, and they don’t get up. So then I’m flipping on all lights, pulling off covers, barking, “TIME TO GET UP! C’MON! YOU’RE LATE!” And I’m annoyed (and honestly, how awful would it be to wake up like that?).?
Guilty too. I read this really enlightening article recently that encouraged some connecting time with your kids for a couple of moments before the routine begins. It’s been amazing how helpful that’s been for us when I stop to do it.
Yeah… I know that there is some hurrying to life that we just can’t escape, but I’d really like to start and end the day with connecting for a moment. And they just know that I love them. I’d rather start and end that way… if it is possible. #isitpossible?
Well, I think it’s challenging. I’ll be honest, sometimes I’m so focused on getting through the routine that I forget to SEE them along the way. But I know God wants us to connect with Him like this so I can only imagine He wants this for us with our kiddos too…
Yep. What if we stop and see them? Just for a minute… Bookend the day by seeing them (sigh). It might take an extra minute, but then again, it might fill them up with what they really need — which is not one more drink — it’s me.
Soaking in the Truth
Scripture to encourage you:
- “You’ve had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God’s pure kindness. Then you’ll grow up mature and whole in God.” (1 Peter 2:2)
Music to inspire you:
- “Spirit of the Living God” by Meredith Andrews
- “Good Morning” by Mandisa
Readings and Resources to come alongside of you:
-
“How to Establish a Morning Routine for Kids That Actually Works” by Bryn Huntpalmer
- We love this excerpt from this parenting.com article: “Get Connected: For kids going to sleep at night means they are on their own,” says Betsy Brown Braun, child development and behavioral specialist, and author of You’re Not The Boss Of Me. “I look at the morning as the oasis after the drought.” In other words, kids can be especially needy for Mommy time in the morning, which may not exactly mesh with your desire to rush everyone out the door. Taking a moment first thing to reconnect with a snuggle and a little conversation can go a long way toward quelling attention-getting behavior later. If they start acting up as the morning goes on, see what you can do to re-establish a connection. Maybe getting dressed in Mommy and Daddy’s room will be just what he needs to get his pants on. “
Related Posts on Texting The Truth:
Living Out the Truth
Ideas to try:
- We don’t want to minimize the stress of routine for a second. It really can be a crazy time and before we know it, we’re all losing our minds. Obviously, this isn’t the goal so what can we do? As we were writing this, we were struck by pausing in the routine to really see our children takes some real dependence on God to help us. But pausing and ask God to fill us with His peace, strength, patience, self-control is what’s going to shift the morning and nighttime routines.
- When the day doesn’t go like you hoped, when the morning blows up and the night time ends in tears for everyone, our prayer is that instead of being plagued with a spirit of guilt with our frenzied routines, we would breathe in grace. Grace for ourselves to not be perfect mamas and grace for our kids to not be perfect robots.
- When anxiety and frustration start taking over, try to pray out loud and ask God for help to take a deep breath and bring some peace to the situation. If nothing else, your kids may stop what they’re doing because they’re trying to figure out what you’re doing! ha!
- A mentor mom encouraged us to pray over her kids at night and call out the good things they did that day. Praying and encouraging your kids at the same time.
- Morning and nighttime routines are filled with a lot of “HAVE TOs” — have to brush teeth, have to say prayers, have to do this and that. It becomes monotonous. For both kids and parents. Look for ways to change up the routines to make it lighter and more meaningful.
Treasured Products we love:
- Christy Nockels’s brand new album ~ Be Held: Lullabies for the Beloved
{These suggestions are ideas from novice moms. Sometimes our life situations need more. In that case, seeking out professional help is the right call.}
So good. I’m a visual type, so when you said bookend the day I pictured actual bookends on the shelf. What goes between bookends? Books. So the kid is the book. Don’t we want to be able to “read” our kids? Then we need to “bookend the day by seeing them.”
Kelly, I said this on FB too but that is such a GREAT thought. Yes! Our kids are the books that we want to be reading.