Morning School Run- Mum Hacks - 6 Tips To Help In The Midst Of Chaos

No matter how many kids or what ages they are, school runs have a reputation for being rushed, hectic and emotionally trialing. Forgotten homework, last minute packed lunches and spilled toothpaste can easily bring out the chaos parenting in us all.

Becoming a mum is one of the most rewarding things in the planet a person can do throughout their lifetime. But with reward, challenge often tags along too. I have had my fair share of challenge thrown at me through mum life, juggling working, school, nursery, and home life and relationships at the core of it all can really be a balancing act. Over the years I have HAD to hone in on my systems, cut out unnecessary jobs and perfect the routine I call life in order to not only survive but thrive.

One of the biggest challenges I feared as a new mum of 2 was the school run with multiple children. With my eldest just starting school and a newborn arriving shortly after, I had to figure out the best ways to keep us all on track to be able to head out the door at the same time each and every morning.

Here are some of my favourite tricks and tips, (or 'hacks' as the internet knows them) to hopefully help you on our way to figuring out what works best for you and your family. And It should go without saying but just to be clear, this is what works for me and my family as a wife and mum to 2 kids, with my husband often leaving much earlier than we do, I often do the school run on my own with no extra help to hand.

Here's the list, you can jump straight to a section by clicking the title

• Getting ready before you start getting ready.

• Tackling things together

• Nix the electironics

• 'You do this, while I do that'

• Setting the tone

• Always give yourself a minute

If you give any of my hacks a try be sure to let me know if it helps at all in the comments below!

Getting ready before you start getting ready

The night before a school day plays such a vital role in being prepared for the day ahead so you have time to sort things should they arise. Heck, somethings you can even get done at the beginning of the week so you don't have to think about them again for the rest of the week. Just a few checks and things ticked off the list can save you so much time and headaches in the morning.

• Check their school bags

Left a jumper at school so you need to make sure there's a clean one? Need something for the PTFA raffle? Need to sign off they participate in an activity? Checking school bags the evening before rather than the morning of can really help take the stress out of an last minute things school drops on you.

• Prepare lunches

Whether you home make your kids lunch or send them with a cashless card to buy something at school, make sure its sorted and ready to go the night before.

Chat with your kids and write down what they would like to eat at the start of the week and make sure they are involved in the decision making to avoid any unwanted meltdowns over cheese and not ham sandwiches. When everyone is informed and kept in the loop there are no surprises to catch them off guard everyone is happier making the whole morning go smoother.

• Uniforms at the ready

Personally I find it useful to have at least 2 sets of a uniform so that should one get dirty it can be put straight in the wash and I have another ready to go already. This saves any need to spot wash in the mornings or the stress of having to wash AND dry before the next morning. But I've known it work best for people to have 5 sets of a uniform so that they know they have a clean one for every day of the week. Whatever way works best for you make sure to have it out and ready where your child knows it is the night before. I say 'where your child knows it is' because if you child is old enough you can easily tell them to go get dressed every day without having to hunt down a shirt, sock and jumper every morning for them because *insert whiney voice* "they can't find it" as they inevitably never can. As my children are still young and are happy to get dressed together I like to have all our clothes together downstairs in the living room, read on for more tips on why I prefer to do it this way.

Tackling things together

I often find my children getting easily distracted from getting ready in the morning, because of course there are far more interesting things to do other than getting ready for school.

I have sent my 6 year old to 'pop upstairs and get dressed' and not seen him for another 30 minutes until I go to look for him where i find him playing with his Lego, still in pants and socks. I could easily send my kids to brush their teeth and they would, but children as hard as they may try, do not have much concept of time keeping and would be back at my side within 30 seconds to ask if they can take this toy with them on the school ride, with a slightly damped toothbrush in their other hand.

One of the best ways I have found to get around these distractions is to keep my kids at my side to set the example as we're going along. Even with a newborn and older children I used a sling to keep us together. This also means.....(You may enjoy this next sentence as I know I would. )

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WAKE UP AN HOUR BEFORE YOUR KIDS TO BE ABLE TO GET READY FOR YOUR DAY.

• Doing life together

When I get up in the morning, I get my kids ready with me. We all wake up together, or wait until we're all awake, we all have a morning cuddle, ask each other how we slept, did we have any good dreams? I feel like this helps going forward so they kids wont be fighting for re-connection after a whole 12 hours apart (if we've had a good night sleeping through!). Then we will all start tackling the list of to do's. We all go through to brush our teeth ( I usually do it over the bath as we run out of room around the sink). We all head downstairs and I will prepare breakfast while the kids chat at the dining table in the same room. While they eat I'll make my morning coffee and do a couple of chores like empty they dishwasher or I can get my make up done (I bring a makeup bag downstairs with me). When they're both done I can wipe their faces clean from the kitchen tap. Then it's through to all get dressed, pop our shoes on and gather into the car to go.

• Working from upstairs to downstairs

One of the main reasons I like to work our to do list from upstairs to downstairs is so that

I can keep a close eye on the kids as they get ready. I know that if I sent someone upstairs to go do something it will take them twice as long and I'll end up having to go up and nudge them along .

As we wake up in the morning we all start our day upstairs, so I like to get all the upstairs jobs done that I can to saving going back up. The kids brush their teeth, go to the toilet, blow their nose if needed and make their beds. Once we're downstairs they'll eat breakfast, wash their faces and get dressed downstairs (again, avoiding sending them upstairs to do it). I also like to bring my make up basket downstairs to be able to do my makeup downstairs and be more present with my kids.

If you're kids are a bit older you maybe able to trust them not to spill their breakfast and toothpaste down their uniform and maybe able to get dressed while still upstairs. Again take what you need from these tips, you may not need them all.

Nix the Electronics

In our home we choose to say no to electronics and any screen time in the morning. It is so distracting and counter productive to sit in front of a screen while the clock ticks by. Kids can start getting frustrated when you ask them to complete a task or tell them 'no more now' so I personally found the best way around that is to not let them have it in the first place. They get to watch a show in the afternoon when they get home from school, if they don't have a group or club on that day, and I use this time wisely to help entertain and relax them while I cook tea in the evening, but mostly TV is not a go to for us in our family when there are jobs and tasks to be done, and the day to start.

'You do this, while I do that'

Kids are born with an innate curiosity and a need to know everything, so if you have a little one that likes to know where you are and what you're doing it is not uncommon. If you're able to keep your kids with you that's great but it's not always possible if you have multiples and different ages.

One way I have learned to work with this and not against it is to keep everyone in the loop of what I'm doing while I boss them around telling them what needs to happen next.

Some examples of this are;

'Come on, finish your breakfast while I'm still doing the washing up'

'I'm putting my socks on, have you got your socks on yet?'

'I'm just finishing off making my coffee, could you go through and start getting dressed'

Using this method can eliminate any questions and distractions as the kids know mum's still getting ready and what they should be doing too. Never underestimate the power of setting the example and giving guidance for how to follow suit.

Setting the tone

I believe, as soon as we wake up in the morning mum sets the tone for how the rest of the morning goes. It makes a big difference how you approach the routine and what attitude you take as to how the morning goes.

• Slow down to speed up

Sometimes constant nagging and shouting and bickering can lead to more panic and disturbance to getting ready. Taking the time to create a set list and gently working through it creates a flow in the morning to nudge the family along to getting ready rather than tripping and falling constantly by rushing around.

• Play some music

I love to play some music in the mornings to uplift everyone. I like to do this while were downstairs eating breakfast and getting dressed and if there's any time left we usually end up dancing the rest of the morning until we have to leave. Highly recommend.

Always give yourself a minute

Someone find me a ladder, if I could shout this from the roof tops I would. Always find time to take a minute when you can to take in the moment and breathe. Assess as you go and slow down to think straight and run through everything you need to (that doesn't mean hop on your phone and distracted).

One well known way to be prepared in the mornings is to wake up before everyone else, make yourself a coffee and savoir the silence before the chaos awakens. I am in a season of life where I would personally rather have the extra 20 minutes in bed catching up on lost sleep from throughout the night time wake ups for the 1 year old.

Find slots in your day to squeeze in moments to sip a coffee that aren't at 6am.

I like to make a coffee every morning before I leave and take it in a travel mug with me. After I've dropped off the kids to school and nursery, the car is quiet, I put all thoughts to the back of my mind for 2 minutes while i sip my to go coffee and prepare myself for the rest of the day.

These are just some ways that I have found to give myself peace in the midst of chaos! I hope you find some helpful tips among this list to assist in your morning routine.

Let me know in the comments below if you try any of these out.