I’ve always heard parents complain about waking up teenagers or college students. How they sleep in on the weekends or refuse to get up for school. Have you ever tried to wake up a kindergartner, though? I’ve experienced it now for over 100 days of school, and I’m telling you, it’s not any different.
I’ve found a routine we’ve followed for a while now. Let me walk you through our (chaotic and not helpful) routine:
- Set your alarm to get up 30 minutes before everyone else needs to be up. Maybe you can actually get ready before you have to help the child get ready.
- Hit snooze four times so now you are NOT up before everyone else.
- Walk into the child’s room and turn on the lamp.
- Pat their back and wait for them to cringe in disgust that you dare touch them at such an ungodly hour.
- Pull their blanket off their face only for them to quickly pull it back over their head and say “I”m soooo tired.”
- Pull said blanket back down and talk sweetly to them while rubbing their back saying you understand, but maybe we could try to go to bed earlier instead of delaying bedtime EVERY night.
- Again, another cringe in disgust and statement of their state of tiredness.
- Check your watch and realize everyone has barely 15 minutes to get ready and out the door to work and school now.
- Pull the blanket all the way off – throw it across the room if need be – and indicate that we are all late now.
- Call in dad for backup. Somehow the child is ready, and you are ready enough that you look like somewhat of an adult, and head out the door vowing you will do this differently.
- Repeat daily.