You all know what Morning Madness is. It’s that time of the morning when you’re trying to convince your kids that getting dressed is a good thing, make lunches, and get yourself dressed when you haven’t had time to do laundry – all at the same time.

More often than not, what to wear or what to eat, or when to get up, is not the main issue. Just as you yourself have things you need in order to be efficient, so do your kids. Some kids need to know they have a choice. Some kids need lots of time. Some kids do better when they are rushing around.

My daughter is a prime example of that. I went through this period when I was getting everyone up early so we’d have lots of time to get ready. While this worked great for my son, my daughter would be all disoriented until about 15 minutes before she had to leave and then she’d boogie it and get out the door. If I forced her out of her disorientation, she’d get ready and then fall asleep on the couch. Now, I get my son up first and give him time to do his waking up and be ready long before he actually has to leave. My daughter I leave with exactly as much time as she needs – about 20-25 minutes – and let her do her rushing. It works for her. It still makes me a little anxious but… that’s for me to deal with.

Clothes choice issues are often seen around the time when asserting independence is essential – usually around the start school, ironically. When my kids were little we’d pick out a weeks worth of socks, underwear, pants and tops. They each had one of those closet hanging things with little partitions and an outfit – not separates – would go in each one. Each day of the week they could choose whatever outfit they wanted but they had to stick with the first choice they put on. Because it was something they had already chosen they had already asserted their independence and they were pretty happy about it.

The final thing I have to say is this: teach your kids to help themselves to breakfast from an early age. I never taught my kids that and now I’m having to deal with it! But live and learn right?