If you are a parent, no one needs to tell you about the challenges children come with. It doesn’t matter how old your children are, there are moments of chaos that have you feeling overwhelmed. It’s easy for things to get out of control. We don’t all have the luxury of a nanny when we need a break. Many of us work full time jobs (and then some) to make ends meet. Some of us are without a parenting partner and others of us have a parenting partner that also works a full time job (and then some).

What you need are practical answers that you can apply to your everyday life. One of the major sources of parenting stress happens at the very beginning of the day. The morning routine, or lack there of, can create of tone of anxiety and tension that carries all of you through your various days. Here are a few things to keep in mind that might help you avoid the AM headaches.

Bedtime

Ensuring a successful morning actually starts the night before. It can be easy to leave your child with an electronic device or toys in their bed and call it a night. Sure, this may seem like an easy solution to the winning that comes with bedtime, but it can also make your child tired.

Over exhaustion makes it difficult for an adult not be cranky and upset. So rather than postponing the bad attitudes until the next morning, set a firm bedtime with a follow up “lights out” time. This way your child feels that they have gotten something they have become use to, but there is now a limit to how long it is allowed to be a distraction from their sleep.

Lists

Often times, the confusion of the morning routine is the result of miscommunication. When your child doesn’t know what they are suppose to accomplish and how much time they have for their tasks, they are left to guess or wait for direction. Our schedules and circumstances of daily life often prevent us from being able to dictate every necessary direction.

This leaves our children to guessing, and rarely are they good at it. If children know what is expected of them, they are more likely to be successful. Lists create a black and white record of tasks and deadlines that will ease the anxiety of not knowing what comes next. If your child is too young to read, believe it or not, the lists still come in handy. A list can actually help you stay organized amid the confusion of young children.

Lead By Example

This one is by far the most difficult to master, but is also the most important. Children look to us to learn how to be adults. They will learn many of their habits from us, good or bad. Making sure that we are prepared and organized when we wake up for the day allows us to maintain a sense of calm.

Our daily preparation and organization allows us the time and patients to prepare and organize our little ones. When we all know what we need to do and where we need to be, everyone starts their day set up for success.