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Getting him ready for school is like pulling teeth!

post #1 of 9
10/20/08 at 9:19am
Thread Starter 
My 7 yr old son, Zachary, is NOT a morning person. Getting him up and ready for school is near impossible. I have to walk him through every step (we have a routine that never changes) of getting ready with him grumbling and whining the entire way.
One of the problems is, I KNOW, the TV. I just can't have it on in the morning or he will plop down in front of it and refuse to do anything on his own.
This morning though I kept the TV off and it wasn't really any easier ... he complained about having to do anything before having breakfast, he complained about the clothes he had to wear (although he absolutely will not pick any himself), and then he "couldn't find" his bookbag and just gave up on everything.

Do you have a morning routine? How are your kids about getting ready for school?
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post #2 of 9
10/20/08 at 10:05am

Re: Getting him ready for school is like pulling teeth!

lately my kids are the same way... I get jacob and nate both up at 6:40-6:45. I get them thier clothes. Then they come downstairs to eat breakfast.... takes forever at times for them to eat. Then they have to brush teeth, hair, wash faces and go to the bathroom before we get coats on and head out the door at 7:25. They struggle with me too...whine at times...try to get out of going to school.
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post #3 of 9
10/20/08 at 10:52am

Re: Getting him ready for school is like pulling teeth!

Same issues, here. Although it's getting better. I warn before I yell, LOL. I lay his clothes out the night before always hanging over the chair in the dining room. Eating breakfast seems to be slow as molases....

Routine is important, I try and remind him to think about the next step in the routine to avoid yelling. Like I said I warn before yelling for him to keep focused.
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post #4 of 9
10/20/08 at 10:54am

Re: Getting him ready for school is like pulling teeth!

I don't know if you've tried this or if it would help, but I get my kids up 10-15 minutes before they need to start their "get ready" routine. For those 10-15 minutes they can watch t.v. while they are waking up. Once it's 7:00, the t.v. is off and they have to eat breakfast, brush teeth, and get dressed so we're out the door by 7:30. For my kids, it has helped them a lot to have those extra minutes to wake up before having to get started on their day.
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post #5 of 9
10/20/08 at 11:32am

Re: Getting him ready for school is like pulling teeth!

Well first off we get bookbags and clothes set out the night before..that always helps. Also, my kids eat breakfast at school so I don't have to worry about that either.
BUT the number one thing that gets my kids moving in the morning are threats- If my kids miss the bus and I have to drive them then they are grounded that entire day from 'all screens' which means no tv, no computer and no video games. That is usually a good enough incentive!
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post #6 of 9
10/20/08 at 12:12pm

Re: Getting him ready for school is like pulling teeth!

Have you tried plopping him in the shower to wake him up? It works for caitlyn and it improves Angela's mood greatly. We make the girls shower EVERY morning, even weekends. Cut down the morning fights alot.
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post #7 of 9
10/20/08 at 3:45pm

Re: Getting him ready for school is like pulling teeth!

Our routine is always the same. And I have Aaron without his meds in his system in the a.m. , so it can be tough. This is what we do. Clothes are out and backpacks packed the night before. Then they get up while Billy makes breakfast and I occassionally walk by and ask if they're getting dressed. (through the closed door) Then they have to hamper and get their shoes on before they eat. This is big for Aaron, he is a HUGE breakfast eater. So if he wastes time, breakfast ends at a specific time, so he doesn't finish eating. It may sound harsh, but it only happened maybe 3 times before he started to really haul ass to get to the table. Then they need to feed the animals, brush teeth and hair and THEN they can watch tv. It's never on before any of that. Good luck, it took awhile, but we just kept to that exact system and it finally clicked with him.
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post #8 of 9
10/20/08 at 7:54pm

Re: Getting him ready for school is like pulling teeth!

We pack everything the night before. Backpack and lunches. And pick clothes out the night before.

They are usually fine in the morning. They both are so used to their schedule of getting up at 6:20 and going to bed at 8. They know if they are bad it can be 7:30 when they go to bed.
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post #9 of 9
10/20/08 at 11:15pm

Re: Getting him ready for school is like pulling teeth!

Drew is 14, so his routine is a bit more relaxed these days. Ally's, however, is rigid (just like Drew's was at her age).

Ally's "wake up time" is 7am, but most days she is up WAY before that (usually 6 or so). She climbs into my bed to either go abck to sleep or watch cartoons. At 7am, she is UP and eating breakfast while she watches Spongebob. At 7:25 I remind her that it's is almost time to to get dressed (in case she hasn't finished eating). At 7:30, we get dressed, whether she has finished eating or not. If she fusses, the TV goes off. But most days it's not a problem. 7:35 we go into the bathroom to brush her teeth, wash her face and comb her hair. 7:40 if she wants something special done with her hair, we do it then. I put her shoes on the shoe rack EVERY SINGLE evening, in the morning, they always come up missing. If she has her shoes on, I will do something "special" with her hair - otherwise she has to wear it "plain" (which she claims to hate, but it comes home that way every day anyway! LOL!)

I think the key is a strict routine. Ally is much more flexible in her routine than Drew ever was. With him, we had to stick to it with NO variations. I even had it written up so he could see it. It helped him alot.

And like Dana said - you only have to make them "do without" 2 or 3 times before they begin to realize that they HAVE to follow the routine for things to go the way they want them to!
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