Morning routines
Getting ready, waking up, leaving on time
The child who can't find their shoes. Every. Single. Day. The dawdling that turns a simple routine into a daily crisis. Mornings are hard because they require executive function skills that are still developing - and because everyone's under time pressure.
What to Know
Mornings are hard because they require executive function skills that are still developing — and because everyone's under time pressure. Planning, sequencing, task initiation, time awareness — kids are asked to deploy all of these before they're fully awake, often while being hurried by stressed parents.
The child who can't find their shoes every single day isn't doing it to annoy you. They likely have working memory challenges, difficulty with organization, or simply aren't fully awake yet. Knowing this doesn't make mornings less frustrating, but it does suggest different solutions than "try harder."
What helps: visual checklists, consistent routines, laying things out the night before, and building in more time than you think you need. Mornings get easier when the routine is automatic enough that it doesn't require much thinking.
Signs to Watch
- •Can't get through the morning routine without constant reminders
- •Dawdles, gets distracted, or forgets steps
- •Has meltdowns over minor morning frustrations
- •Loses or can't find things needed for the day
- •Makes the family consistently late
- •Is more difficult on mornings with new or stressful events ahead
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