It is 6.A.M.
Momma gets up, freshens up. She wakes her 5-year-old up and goes to the kitchen
It is 7A.M. Breakfast is ready.
She checks on him, he is still in his bed, dreaming about that robot toy he saw last night. Aww!
“Come on, get up dear. Otherwise we will be late for your first day at school!”
She goes downstairs, gets back after getting everything ready for him.
It is 7:30 AM. He is still sleeping.
Momma holds him up, tickles him hard to get his eyes open. She brushes his teeth, baths him up and dresses him. She probably burnt 100calories doing all this and gosh! He looks adorable in that school uniform. It was worth the drill, after all.
But, he does not wish to go to school so he starts wailing…..and there begins the second part of her morning exercise.
Isn’t it the usual mom drill every morning? (For some mothers, it can be worse. Like a kick in the back because the baby is up and rolling. OH-MY GOD!)
“Mom I want my shirt”, “Mom I can’t find my socks!”, “Mom I don’t want to have eggs, make me pie” Mom this, mom that.
“STOPPPPPP ITTT!”
Uh oh, Trigger Warning. Scolding and shouting at kids can lead to an uncontrollable flood of tears. Hence, not recommended. Because it will take you more time to get their mood lifted again. And then, there is guilt. No!
So what should mommy dearest do? How to find the zen in chaos?
- Take a deep breath: You need your calm to think and act, right? So, DO NOT PANIC. Maybe reverse count or have a glass of water? Just sit down for 5 seconds and process it all.
- Delegate the work: Four hands are better than two. Get your husband to help you in sharing the morning responsibilities. Will definitely wind up work faster. Team-work, ya!
- Organize and organize: Make an exhaustive list of what your child might need once he gets up a night before itself. Will save your time. Prepping a night before like ironing clothes at night, keeping the socks and shoes at the right spot, cutting chopping veggies a night before can come very handy. You can also assign food days. “Monday is veggie, Tuesday is pie, sandwich on Wednesday, please don’t cry”. Because brainstorming about what to cook in the morning can be mentally draining.
- Keep plan B ready: Use your motherly instincts and play in your stride in case all plans fail and you have a tantrum thrown at you. A chocolate, a game, favourite cartoon may save your day.
While doing all this, take care of yourself too. Because you need the strength to dance at your apple of the eye’s tunes and drop him to school only to hear a mellifluous “I love you, mommy”
Until, the next day begins. ALL-OVER-AGAIN! Ugh!☺