Leaving for work without a fuss
It's 8.30am, the toast is burning, your child is screaming after doing
a massive poo in pristine clothes… will you ever get out the door in time
for your 9am meeting? We look at how parents can manage the morning rush
without having a nervous breakdown.
Rush hour
Many working parents hate weekday mornings. The rush to get showered,
dressed, eat breakfast, feed and dress your children and get out of the
house within an hour is enough to drive anyone to distraction. Even if
your darling wakes up at 5am or 6am, thereby leaving you with a couple
of hours to spare, you still find yourself running around with a baby
wipe stuck to your shoes and unbrushed hair as you struggle to strap a
protesting toddler into a sadistically difficult child seat.
Then there's the drive to work, through traffic, roadworks and with a
howling child in the car. You make it to your childminder's just in time.
As you kiss your offspring goodbye, the sticky residue of baby rice on
their face smears onto yours… unnoticeably until you hit the staff bathrooms
at 11am. No wonder everyone was staring at you in the morning meeting.
Do mornings need to be hell? Not if you introduce some structure into
your life. As author Paige Hobey, in her recent book Welcome
to Babyville says, everyone flourishes on a routine.
Paige talks us through three simple steps to ensure a more peaceful passage
to childcare and work.
Do everything the night before
"Plan ahead. Before going to bed, pull out your baby's clothes and pack
up the nappies, bottles and various accessories required. Have the nappy
bag ready and waiting. Select your outfit. If you're prone to forgetting
things, tape a 'bring to work' checklist - with everything from your cell
phone to your clean breast pump shields - on the inside of your front
door. Then, impressively, you awake the next morning and whip through
dressing and breakfast in record time. You double-check the items on your
list and head out early, relaxed and ready for action."
Create a morning routine for yourself and your
baby
Babies thrive on relatively predictable routines and, let's be honest,
so do we. There will be days your child wakes at the crack of dawn and
other days she sleeps right through breakfast but do your best. It doesn't
have to be anything elaborate, just try to keep the basics in a predictable
order, i.e. bottle, nappy change, clothes, breakfast, five minutes of
playtime, into the infant carrier, out the door.
Expect delays
No, you're not imagining it. Your child really does have a sixth sense
that alerts her to pull out her best procrastination techniques when you're
in a hurry. She will sense your urgency like a heat-seeking missile and
suddenly produce three explosive dirty nappies in a row. Or, for the first
time in her life, refuse the bottle. Or have the meltdown of the century.
Know this now and keep your wits about you when these mornings hit. Try
to channel your calm pre-baby self, remain flexible, and follow your morning
routine as quickly and quietly as possible. We've all been there and survived.
You will too.
The secrets to our success
Mums on our Working Parents forum share their secrets to a stress-free
start to the day.
"I make my sandwiches for work the night before; it's one less thing
to think about in the morning!"
Alice
"My son and daughter's friend's parents always look at me as if I am
extremely cruel, but my best tip is get your children to get themselves
ready as soon as they are physically capable. Both my older two have dressed
themselves since the age of two-and-a-half and my younger daughter will
be the same. It saves lots of stress and time, plus my son now comes home
with loads of stickers for being the first dressed after PE so it was
worth it!"
Kerry
"I'm not always good at getting out of the house on time as my boss will
vouch for. The best thing is to either do everything the night before
or do it before they get up then you only have them to worry about. Getting
Emily to race me dressing Matthew speeds up the dressing part and that
can also work for breakfast. What ruins the whole process is the television!
If they are up earlier than usual and have it on because I'm still sorting
out stuff for me I'm doomed! Make sure they are ready and sitting with
their shoes on before it's turned on."
Suzie
"I try and get everything ready the night before, clothes, lunchbox,
my food etc. Even getting up two hours before leaving it's sometimes a
struggle to get out on time! I shower the night before instead of the
morning and basically spend as much time as I can talking and pottering
around with my child as, when I am rushing around, she does the most whingeing
and leg holding. Enlisting her help with stuff helps too"
Babyemilysmum
"I used to do whatever I could the night before. Then I was always first
up and would get myself ready before getting my husband and daughter up.
Any little jobs that needed doing were done before they got up. I was
also strict (Sergeant Major, me!). Once she was older if the TV went on
at all it was only after my daughter was ready and sitting there waiting
to go. I had to be strict though as my husband could be as bad as my daughter
in getting ready! Now my daughter is at school so my husband takes her
in the mornings and I leave earlier. I make sure everything for her is
ready the night before and within easy access for them both. Basically
all they have to do is get washed, have breakfast, get dressed and do
her hair. Luckily she has lunch at school which helps. The only way we
can work it is to be organised. Still working on trying to get my husband
to be more organised though!"
Andrea
"We have a 'launch pad'. Everything that is needed for the next day goes
there so on our way out we know where everything is. We've been using
this system since the older two went back to school and it's working a
treat. I even started to put my handbag there as well! "Luckily my childminder
is great and gives the baby his breakfast when he gets there as I can't
seem to fit that in right now!"
Anita
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