Out the Door in the AM...secrets / Tips?

Use a timer and play, "beat the clock". I did this with my daughter and she loved it because it became a game. Do it for motivating her to get up by setting 3-4 minutes for "wake up time", then 5 minutes for "get dressed" time, then 15 minutes for "eating time". Once she gets in the habit, you won't need the timer anymore because she's on a routine. Good luck!

Have everything picked out the night before. And everything packed the night before.
And wake her up an hr before you have to leave , not an hr before it starts, and if you still need more time start an hr and a half before you have to leave. So if she takes her time she has the time to take.
I've got an ADHDer that is HORRIBLE in the morning and she has to get up 1.5 hrs before she has to leave to be able to get out the door on time.

Get things ready, the NIGHT BEFORE.

Allow, MORE time than you actually need, in the morning to get yourself AND your kids, ready.

ALLOW for glitches, in your timing, that will get you later.

YOU- get up earlier than the kids. AND get yourself ready first, make breakfast/coffee etc.
Then once the kids wake up, YOU are already ready.

Allow, 1/2 hour to get the kids ready, at least.
So you and them are not rushing.

PUT things in the car already, that you will need, the night BEFORE.

Make their home lunches (if they need that) the night before. Have it in containers in the fridge, already.
Make their water bottles, ready already and filled up, the night before.

Teach your 3 year old, to get ready and do her part too. My son at 3 years old, could get himself ready.
It is all about TEACHING the kids, about ROUTINE. In the morning.

PUT a timer on. Give the eldest a verbal head's up.... ie: We have to go in 10 minutes..... get ready faster....

ALWAYS allow MORE time than you actually need, in the mornings, to get ready. ALL of you. So you are NOT rushing.

AND, think about TRAFFIC. KNOW how long it takes you to drive to school. AND have alternate routes you can take, in the event there is traffic hold ups, on the road.

AND... leave the house, 5 minutes before you actually have to. KEEP in mind, it takes another 5 minutes at least... to load the kids up in the car/buckle them in... and get their things in the car too. And yourself.... before you even have to leave the garage.
THUS, get the kids and stuff, loaded up into the car, 5 minutes BEFORE you actually have to.
Do not wait... until you are down to the wire as far as timing... to load the kids and stuff, into the car.

Have back-up clothing/shoes/diapers, in the car too. At ALL times.
Just in case.

Since your 3 year old is a slow getting-ready child, have her get ready AHEAD of time.... earlier, than now.
AND explain to her, about you cannot be late.

You don't have to have a 'buffet' for breakfast. Just feed her something quick in the mornings. Even a cup of yogurt. Or cereal. Or a breakfast bar. They DO have snack time, at preschool, in the mid-morning anyway.

Make sure, she gets to bed the night before, on time and not late. BECAUSE, an over-tired child in the morning, WILL be cranky and fussier and not able to get ready, on time.

I hear and feel your pain...my son, Nicky, who is 9, thinks that school should start around 11AM and get out at 5PM...I've not read your other responses so please forgive me if I am repeating....

set her clothes out the night before - that's one battle down...
if you have anything that you have to pack for her - lunch, etc. then do that the night before as well...
I don't know if you park your car in a garage or not - however, if you do - if there are things that NEED to go with her to school - i.e., backpack, homework, etc. make sure it is done and in her backpack and in your car BEFORE YOU go to bed that night...one less thing to worry about...

I would give her 15 minutes to eat breakfast - that's what I have to do with Nicky...15 minutes and that's that...I know - it sounds mean - but really - if he had his way - his cute little but would be back in bed sawing zzzz's...so I have to give him an allotted time to eat...yes, I even set the timer.

I give him 15 minutes to get dressed - yes - that's a long time - but here's what I do...I tell him the FASTER HE GETS IT DONE - then he can watch TV or play a video game until it is time to go...Scooby Do is on in the AM and he loves to watch Scooby Do...so he is encouraged to get it done so he can watch it!!

GOOD LUCK!!!

CONGRATS on your new baby by the way!!! :)

I have my kids pick out clothes before they sleep. They must be dressed before they eat. While they eat, I do their hair. Then all they have to do is brush their teeth and out the door we go.
One thing you can do is time how long it takes her to eat, 20-30 minutes plenty of time for one to eat. I have one daughter that I have to remind her to put her bites in her mouth. She just takes a long time to wake up. But since I am doing her hair, I am right there to say, "keep eating, please". Also time how long it takes for you to get to her school, how long it takes to get everyone in the car, how long it takes to get dressed. Add them all up and subtract from the time she has to be there. That is what time she needs to wake up.
***Best advice***
Mornings go sooooo much smoother when Mom is ready before kids get up. So make sure that you are ready so you can help her get ready and not leave it up to her, cause a 3 year old is not capable of being aware of time and getting ready at the same time:) I find that when I am trying to get ready the same time they are, I get way more frustrated and we are always late. And usually it is me to blame not them, but I feel like it is them.
I would not wake her up earlier if she would be falling below getting 11 hrs of sleep. she still needs 11-12 hrs. So if getting her up earlier is the only answer, make sure you put her to sleep earlier.
Good luck,
E.

Get EVERYTHING ready the night before:
* Her clothes, your clothes, shoes, lunch, backpack, snacks... Whatever you need.
* Have your keys and purse right by the door (I can NEVER find my keys when I'm in a hurry!)

In the morning:
* Get up before either of the kids (if possible, before the baby) and get totally ready.
* Get your daughter up and ready, let her eat breakfast while you feed the baby (if the baby will sleep later).
*Have an on-the-go breakfast option in case you get behind - waffle, cereal in a tupperware, go-gurt, whatever.

Get as much ready the night before (make lunch, lay out clothes) as you can.
If 1 hour before you leave is not enough time, get up earlier - we use to get up at 6 am.
Have some breakfast, brush teeth, get dressed (saves getting breakfast and toothpaste on clothes), get out the door with time to spare.
I was in the habit of arriving 15 min early, then reading a small story in the car in the parking lot till the doors opened.

Do as MUCH as possible the night before: pick out clothes, set the table, pack *anything* that needs packing, decide on breakfast.

If you still don't have enough time, then try getting her up 15 minutes earlier; then 30 and 45 - until you find that magic number.

One thing we did was to save breakfast for "last" and eat breakfast in the car if we were running behind. Milk in a sippy cup right when he woke up, but then shower, dress, and if we had time we'd eat at home, and if not we'd eat on the road. Scrambled eggs transport in ziplock twist'n'seal containers very very easily.

The first time we had a clothing fight and ended up quite late, our preschool teacher gave me the best heads up EVER. Bring him in his PJs, and bring his clothes along with. Peer pressure would have him in his clothes very quickly (toddlers have NO compunction about saying "Why are you in your PJs????" with a weird look on their face to other toddlers.) We actually never even made it in the door with PJs on. In the parking lot, watching the other kids/ etc... it was AMAZING how quickly he stripped and got in his clothes. Grand total of 3 or 4 times in 3 years.

Counting. We have a house rule that I won't get angry until I've counted and counting means I'm serious. ((I realized it was pretty unfair to him to play "elephants" with socks some days, and other days be all upset that he was playing with his clothes instead of dressing.)) Counting gave him the heads up that whatever "it" was, it needed to happen now, and it wasn't playtime.

"Racing", and making things fun/ a challenge whenever possible (my son was all about competition). From racing to get to the car, get straps on... to how FAST can you get on your shirt? Faster than your pants?

Definitely choose clothes for everyone the night before. I think you do need to start earlier. One thing that really helped my son on those mornings that we just didn't give ourselves enough time was Carnation Breakfast Essentials. I had morning sickness during both pregnancies and had trouble eating, so I used to drink these all the time. He loves chocolate milk, and he doesn't get it very often (just as a treat). One morning we were running late, so I made this for him to drink in the car. I got really excited and told him it was "Special Chocolate Milk." That was 3 years ago. He still calls it that!

Well, you don't say what time you have to leave to get her to school on time (if it's a 5 minute drive you can obviously leave later than a 20 minute drive). But, here are my tips...
1. Plan ahead - We get her clothes picked out on Sunday for the upcoming school week (we just take the top outfit each morning). The night before, we get anything/everything that she needs to take ready and either by the door or in my car.
2. Be realistic with how long you need in the morning - Start w/ what time you need to be pulling out of the driveway (If you need to leave at 7:30 you need to be walking out the door at 7:20 to get everyone in the car, buckled in, etc.). Then work backwards...how long for your child to get dressed/eat/wake up. And be realistic how much help she will need (you can't plan for her to get ready in 15 minutes while you are taking care of the baby if she needs your help too). Then throw a bit of a cushion in there in case she's having (or you or the baby) is having a bad morning.
3. Don't wait for school to start her routine. Start a few weeks early. So it won't be such a change when you need it to be working well.

4. Even though you are a SAHM, enlist your husband's help if possible. If he can take care of the baby while you are getting the 3 year old ready for school or if he can take the 3 year old to school once you have her ready it will help. Just be clear about what you want/expect from him. For my hubby that means spelling everything out....if I said, take care of teh baby, he would think that meant "change the diaper" or "give a bottle".

My daughter has always had to be up and ready for us to leave in time to drop her off and get to work on time. She has always eaten breakfast at school (and I didn't have to pack her lunch). Now, at the end of this month, I have to get her up, fed, and to school (20 minutes away) and then to still get to work on time (back the other direction 20-25 minutes. Just as this is soon to start, my husband (works over an hour away) has to be to work about the time I have to get our daughter up. He was supposed to take her to school for me this year. So, we have started planning everything. We created our meal menus ahead of time so we can shop more effectively on the weekend for the upcoming week and whichever one gets home first knows what needs to be started. It also mean my husband can help me prep the night before for any lunches I may need to pack before he leaves in the am. The clothes are already decided and I have gotten my daughter an alarm clock and have it set about 10 minutes earlier than I need her up. We have started our routine a bit and in about another week I will need to back her wake time up another 10-15 minutes to start allowing her time to get use to leaving the house earlier when school starts.

Lay out all clothing the night before.

Have her start eating breakfast earlier. This means you probably need to get her up around 6:45. Even an extra 15 min in the am makes a huge difference.

Create a reward chart and a list of things she must do. Keep it simple:

1. Be dressed by 7:15.
2. Eat breakfast and be done by 7:40

Each time she accomplishes it, give her a star. 25 stars gets a treat, movie, etc.

Lastly, don't let her run the show. You are the parent. We are to be ready by "x" time and if you are giving her enough time to do things and she just messes around, well punishment is then in order. Take a star away or whatever you choose.

Good luck!

i get my son up an hour before time to be there, and he doesn't have to eat breakfast before we leave (they feed him breakfast). maybe get her up earlier?

my other secret is i get up sometimes an hour before i get any of them up. it is my "me" time. most of the time i don't even start getting dressed until i wake them up. i tried to go to work early today, to get some overtime, and it just RUINED my entire day. i hated it. i need that morning calm before the storm!

Figure out breakfast and clothing the night before. Also, bathe the night before.

Hi M.,

I would definitely start waking her up at 6am instead. That way she has enough time to wake up, and do her morning routine. I would get up about 15min before her to start getting ready myself. That's what I do with my son. I have a first grader, and my youngest son just turned 2. It is challenging trying to get a routine going in the am. :-)

Ditto what some of the other moms have said about getting up and ready before you get to the kids. but somethings I've found worked better for us:

-Get up, get dressed, BEFORE you leave the bedroom. That way there isn't another trip back into the bedrooms.

-Ditto having backpacks and such in the car already, but also think about putting jackets in the car too if you don't have to leave the house to get to the car. And if you don't already have a second set of clothes/per kid in the car. Wrap the set of clothes in a plastic grocery bag to keep it clean and dry, but also to put the dirty clothes in. Also helps when the kids get to the car and you notice that breakfast has messed up a shirt, kid got out of the house without socks, in shorts on a chilly day, ect. It happens. You could also keep a small box with breakfest bars inside for those mornings when you're running late.

-Since you have one so little still, and if you're not dropping that one off anywhere, then don't worry about baby other then feeding and a diaper change. Might try taking care of baby before you wake the preschooler, or while the preschooler is eating, will depend on how your mornings go. You'll have all the time you need after you get the oldest to school.

-Ditto to leaving 5 minutes early. My plan was to always get to school 10 minutes early. When my kids were in preschool they each liked to get the 3-5 minutes to play on the yard with the "full time" kids and check in with friends before going to class. Even now that they are in elementary/middle school... the mornings are better when they've been there for a little while before the bell rings.

Best of luck. Best to find a routine that works for you now, rather then scrambling in a couple years.

make each job a race with an egg timer (except breakfast). Each time she successfully beats the clock, give her a sticker towards some reward.