Do your mornings feel more like a push and pull contest rather than a smooth preparation for the day ahead? Finding items that need to be taken to school, feeding pets, walking dogs, last minute planning on who will be home when, getting everyone dressed, coping with the child who’d rather be sleeping, making breakfast—these are just a few of the commonly reported challenges facing parents every morning.

There are tips and tricks to alleviate the morning crunch. Try the following for a smoother morning routine.

The thirty-minute prep. If morning feels more like a racetrack than a time of controlled preparation, practice the 30-minute prep. Ease morning responsibilities by preparing all you can the night before. Have children set their clothes out, put toys away and pack their school bags before bed. Set your own clothes out. After dinner, routinely set the breakfast table complete with cereal boxes, bowls and silverware. Set up your coffee maker so you can simply press the “on” button in the morning. Bag lunches. Whatever you can do in thirty minutes at night will be thirty minutes less awaiting you in the morn-ing when people aren’t running at their best.

Keep it simple. While television may glamorize a gorgeous family sitting down to pancakes made in the shape of hearts, the practical parent knows the value of simplic-ity—cereal or toast. Save time consuming breakfasts for a weekend treat or assign one night a week as “breakfast for dinner” night.

o Listen to the weather ahead of time to guide children in clothing choices.

o Have children lay out their clothes and pack their own lunches.
This can be a good re-sponsibility for a chore and reward system.

o Place your clothes out the night before. Place your keys, briefcase, etc. near the door.

o Give “warnings” that the bus is leaving 30 minutes, 15 minutes and five minutes prior to departure to keep kids on track.

o Make sure kids have clocks in their bed-rooms to monitor time.

o Take it one thing at a time. Instead of wres-tling with getting both yourself and your chil-dren ready in the morning, get up an hour early so that you are dressed and showered before your children arise.

o Encourage children’s promptness with a mark on their reward chart or, if you give allow-ance, let morning preparation be one of the responsibilities that helps children earn it.

o If you have only one bathroom, prepare a bathroom schedule and let kids be responsi-ble for getting in and out on time.