Rise and shine: Creating a fun morning routine
Hear how this parent made usually dreary mornings fun for her and her kids.
This mum’s rousing morning routine helped to make family life run a little more smoothly and started the day with something that made everybody laugh and feel uplifted.
Here’s what she did:
The mornings had become shambolic.
As I screamed up the stairs for the umpteenth time “It’s time to get up NOW”, I was aware things had to change. It was time for a morning reboot. We needed to say goodbye to the humdrum pressure created by an irritable mother endlessly badgering her tween charges to get ready for the day. No-one was having much fun.
And then - from the depths of our day-break despair - the inspiration for the Dawn Disco was formed.
We would boogie our way into the morning, every morning.
When it was time for the kiddos to wake up and surface for the day, I would turn up the music loudly. Playing my embarrassing 80s music I’d shuffle into their rooms singing at the top of my lungs.
They’d still groan and turn over - but they’d laugh, grudgingly. And they’d have awoken on a high note (or perhaps a low note depending on the musical score).
The best part of the ritual became how it made us feel.
The music uplifted us, dancing became a regular part of our day, and it was something that connected us as a family - our own light-hearted morning routine.
And I got to introduce them to MY music, because, without coming downstairs to turn it off, they had no choice but to listen!
The end of the day is also a great time for a shared activity and a regular routine can help to make bedtimes a little easier.
For ideas on creating a bedtime ritual, check out the Mentemia app.
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