What Do You Allow in the Morning Before School?

Once she was ready to go, she could do whatever she wanted, with the understanding that when I said it was tme to go, she ahd to stop, even if she was in the middle of something.

whatever they wanted IF they were completely ready to go in time.
as long as they had completed their morning routine i didn't need to police 'em past that.
khairete
S.

Ha! We have absolutely no time for any "extras" in the morning. My son is usually running out the door with toast & jelly & a bottle of water. If we had time, I wouldn't care what they did.

Once they are finished getting ready...and officially "walking out the door ready" then they can be on tv, computer,video games, play with the chickens or twiddle their thumbs. I don't care...just be ready when it is time to walk out the door.

It is all about teaching them to monitor their time and be accountable for getting themselves ready. Then they can reap a "reward".

Our kids love their free time before their school day begins.

I let them play what they want as long as they are fully ready for school. I find it's a good motivator. The faster they get ready, the more time they have to play. If they dawdle and procrastinate, then they can't play because they've wasted all their time. Natural consequences built in.

I don't think you are being too strict. If it works for you, keep it up! My kids are up by 6am and we don't leave until 8am... so we do have more time and they do get to do more (painted by 7 year old's nails today!). Whatever works for you :)

No, getting ready for school is the same as getting ready for work. You have so much time in the morning and that is it and you must be to school or work on time. Employers do not want excuses as to why you are not there when they need you.

You are teaching your children time management and that there are things that can not be done in the morning. If you have to have the TV on in the morning, make it a news program and no cartoons. Video games and such are for after school after homework is done. Besides if you get the right news program on, it will tell you the time and you should have an idea of where you are in what should or needs to be done to be out the door on time. Gear your dressing, eating, and going out the door in 15 minute intervals.

I am from the old school and it bugs me that modern moms think that they have to have the cartoons on to get kids motivated. You are the parent and in charge of them getting out the door on time and you if you work. You figure out what is needed to get them going and do it. They will complaint but they will follow what moms says if mom does not back down. Stand your ground.

Congrats on the "kick back" as you are doing your job. Parents aren't friends until the kids are 22 or older.

the other S.

I let them turn on the TV after everything else was done (dressed, teeth brushed, shoes on, etc.) We never had a problem getting out the door on time.
Video games probably wouldn't have worked because there wasn't enough time. They knew this (I guess?) because I can't remember them ever asking or wanting to play games before school.

No, I don't allow tv/media time either. The time before school can be spent getting ready. Once Kiddo is ready, he can play with whatever toys he likes until it's time to go. He also has a routine for the very last ten minutes of home time (brush teeth, wash face etc.).

Our rule is that if we have trouble getting out the door on Morning #1, then he may ONLY look at books on Morning #2.

Tell them that if they want to have time to play, they have to earn it. Come to breakfast with clothes on and bed made. Make sure all of their stuff is ready to go. When they can show you that on a regular basis,then you can allow some playtime. But if they start slacking again.... back to square one.

I allow my boys to sleep as long as possible, so there is not any additional time for messing with games, etc. I make sure that backpacks are ready to pick up and walk out the door the night before. I have the morning news show on but that is the only TV they get, otherwise they get so distracted we could be running late even if we got up early!!

M

There are no electronics in the morning in my house. My alarm goes off at 7:00, I hit snooze until 7:30, get them up at 8:00 (if they're not already up) and we're out the door at 8:45. They eat breakfast at school.

IF they're dressed and ready for school before 8:45 I'll let them play a board or card game, but the TV doesn't get turned on in the mornings. Not having cable makes this a LOT easier to do as well.

I don't think you're being too strict at all. IMO, kids spend WAY too much time in front of a screen of some kind. They SHOULD be playing games that involve imagination and being up and moving. Yes, my kids get more video game time in the winter when it's cold out, but as soon as it starts getting warm again I kick them outside to play.

My son gets up about 7:05, leaves the house at 7:30.
He watches tv while he eats breakfast then BAM! Teeth, clothes, shoes, gone.

I never allowed additional time to do anything in the morning except wake up, groom, dress, eat, and get out for the bus. The more time kids have the harder it is to keep them on track and get the out the door. If they woke up before the alarm they could quietly read in bed but no electronics, tv, etc.

The boy I nanny for is a fiend for minecraft. I allow it only after the following are done.
breakfast
teeth brushed
dressed for school
lunch into backpack for school

when those things are done he is allowed to have it for whatever time is left before leaving for school. It is usually somewhere in the 10 to 15 minute range. If I say times up and he fights it no computer the next morning. He does not fight it lol.

If it causes you to be late, then I can certainly see why you would not allow them. I do not think you are being too strict- you have made a logical consequence.
I do personally allow them, after everyone is completely ready. I like to get on the computer in the morning, so something a little mindless and quiet while I wake up, I figure the kids are the same way. They will usually watch YouTube tutorials on Minecraft for about 15 min. My youngest is super vigilant about bothering people about the time, so we are not ever late thanks to this somewhat annoying trait, ha ha.

No, you aren't being too strict. I pretty much allow the same as you, and they can lose even that if I have to pull them away from the TV to do something they should have already completed.

Right there with you Mama!! stick with what works at your kids grow.
B.

My before and after school kids usually just play around on their iPads/iPods or watch TV from the time they arrive until they leave for school. My kids are also allowed to go in their iPads/iPods or watch TV if they are completely ready to go and still have time. If there was an issue with them getting too involved and being unable to transition then I would not allow it, but so far it hasn't been a problem.

No electronics in the morning - including ipad & ipods. If they're early they can read a book. Of course we have a very short wake/leave time frame, they only have 25 minutes to get up, dressed, eat, and leave so there isn't a lot of spare time.

Get dressed, eat, brush teeth, get bag ready, coat hat & mittens on. If any time left we play a quick game of foosball or coloring a project that's been going on.

I don't allow ANYTHING until my daughter is completely ready but that's because she is already distracted by EVERYTHING that it takes much longer than is necessary. Example...I told her to get dressed (her clothes were right in front of her) while I went to dry my hair. When I came back with my hair dried and straightened (15 minutes later) she still was sitting where I left her fidgeting with stuff in the area.

If she's completely ready and wants to eat a little something I allow it (she eats breakfast at school). If she wants to read or play with something it's ok but about 10 minutes before the bus comes, she got to stop and put her coat on. 5 minutes before the bus, we go sit in my car (I pull out as soon as her bus pulls away).

If it works for you and your family then I don't think you're being too strict. I guess it all depends on the kids. My kiddos are older (12 and 10) and very easy. They can do whatever they want in the morning. My 12 year old gets herself up and dressed and is always sitting in front of the TV eating breakfast before I even come downstairs. She gets up early in order to do this (has to leave the house at 6:30am, so she's up at 5:40, downstairs at 6am). I mentioned to her once that if she wanted to sleep a little bit longer she could skip the TV. She said she likes to take her time eating breakfast and sort of "zone out" before the craziness of the day. My 10 year old gets up later because she doesn't leave for school until 8:30am. She usually eats breakfast with me at the island in the kitchen. She often times has 10 or 15 minutes leftover before it's time to leave and she either plays a little piano or plays with the cats! She's not all that interested in TV or electronics. Maybe once a week she'll play a computer game in those 10 minutes.

So for me, telling them no electronics/tv in the morning doesn't make sense. It's not causing any problems and we're never late to school. But, I can see how it could wreak havoc in other homes. I do have several friends with the "no electronics" rule during the week. Whatever works for you, right?

Nope not too strict at all. No screens in the am. Not good for them. If you never have it, they will not miss it. They get their screen time in later I'm sure. :-) I know mine do.

They are allowed to eat, dress, brush teeth, pack lunch, and maybe read. So compared to me, you are way more easy going. Once they are all ready, if time allows, they can play together!

My kids are 7 and 11 and are self-reliant.
They wake themselves up. They get ready themselves.
I always have something for them to eat in the morning they can grab and eat before we actually have to leave the house.
I get ready myself.
We all just get ready on our own at our own speed, and we ALL know BY when, we have to, leave the house. And everyone is generally, ready.
We don't run late.
If my kids are ready, they can do what they want before we leave the house.
If they want to watch tv, sure. *I* like watching the morning news myself, in the morning, as I am doing stuff/getting ready in the morning. Its fine. My son plays, my daughter watches the news too. Its fine.
There is not much time anyway in the morning to get too sucked into anything for too long.

I used to let them watch some tv before school, after they got ready, but that slowed us down since they'd find SOMETHING to forget before leaving the house. The new rule is NO electronics at all before school. If they're ready to go before I get the rest of the kids ready and in the car, they can sit on the sofa, with their shoes/boots, coat and backpack on and read a book or color. That's it. Being on time is too important for me to mess with it by letting them get distracted by electronics.

No TV/electronics in the morning in our house...no time!!! You're not too strict:)

I allow a little Youtube of his fave show, which is Octonauts right now. Easy to pause to watch later when we have to go. :)

No way, we would never get out of the house. We barely make it out in time now. The only thing I have on is the radio, I have to listen to my morning show. My girls started playing with their dollhouse this morning and I had to tell them to stop and get ready. I guess the exception is if they get up before they need to be up (8:00) then they can play until the normal get up time. The TV never comes on though because then it would become a fight when it's time to go off. You're not being too strict.

Hell no you're not being too strict! And what completely amazes me is that you have extra time before school! Every single morning is a rat race with my 3 boys. Getting them off to school on time is the most stressful part of my day! To imagine your kids having extra time in the morning is foreign to me! How many kids do you have? I'm guessing 2. I don't think you would have extra time in the morning if you have more than 2 kids - but even with 2 kids, having extra time before school is impressive.

Nope. Not too strict. We don't have time for screens in the morning. We all like to sleep in until 7am. That gives us about 45 minutes to get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth and hair, get gear and get into the car. My older daughter did ask if she could get up earlier so she could watch some TV. I had dad wake her up when he got up (6) and she decided she would rather sleep.

No. You're being totally reasonable. Electronic media does NOT get kids in the right mindset for school. Our morning consists of getting dressed, eating breakfast, reading and/or legos, and heading off to school. Life would come to a screeching, disastrous halt if TV/media were a possibility in the morning.

We have children's TV on in the morning. We have plenty of time to get ready and have breakfast. No iPads or computers though.

No - NOT too strict. If your morning is anything like mine - there is NO time for nonsense. They have to focus on getting ready, period. Now - as they've grown older (9 and 11), they've been able to plan their own mornings a bit more. For example, my 9 year old wanted time to do something before school (TV, video game, read, or just lolly gag sp?). So - I told her that I can't change MY schedule, but if she'd like to, she can set her own alarm and get up earlier to allow more time - BUT - she should be sure all her stuff is done and ready (pick up her room, make her bed, get dressed, pack her backpack, brush her teeth, etc.). She's taken it upon herself to do just that. she likes being in charge - so it's worked out well for her and she's happy. My 11 year old could care less LOL. He's just fine with the way things are. Cracks me up those two - they're so different. <3 Hope that helps.

DD can play a bit or watch a little kid-friendly TV if she gets ready on time. I would simply tell them that they need to do these things (perhaps make a list for each kid to check off) and once those things are done, they earn their reward. If they whine and cry, then they are choosing to waste their own time and not get TV. They'll learn.

With DD, she knows that the end of either Tickety Tock or Charlie and Lola is IT and it's time to go. So that's also kind of a timer if it's on.

Oh, and when SS used to run late in the mornings (without TV), we charged him $10 each time he made us run him to school. That stopped that behavior pretty quick.

My kids usually don't get any screen time on school days, AM or PM. In the mornings they are allowed to play, read, or draw after they are completely ready to go. They get to watch TV while they eat breakfast on the weekends. :-)

we have a star chart. my kids get a star if they remember to make their beds, brush their teeth have their school stuff ready to go.
some mornings they do 1xl math on the set. for my younger child 1 set can get her about 5 min for 1 set. usually i have her do 1-2 sets 2 times in the morning. my 2 other kids dont move as fast as she.

normally i dont like tv or gadgets in the morning..our focus is being ready for school and getting there on time.
however if one of the kids gets down much earlier..another snow day..have extra time..then i will let them do the wii or watch tv for about 10 -15 min.

Whatever works for you in the morning is what you should keep dong.

In my house, time from wake-up to out-the-door is 1 hour. They get up, eat, wash, dress and then usually read until it is time to go. Sometimes they play with Legos or whatever.

If our daughter got up on time, dressed and we had more than 15 minutes, she could watch a bit of TV.. Usually it was all reruns so it was not like she was missing anything when we left.

Our daughter needed to wake up quietly, no speaking no asking questions.. Her alarm was set 15 minutes before she actually needed to start getting ready so that cushion time was built in .

I m sure each child needs different things to get redy and get to school on time. Our daughter had been in Day care so we had a good schedule and routine, it just needed to be earlier.

Here in Austin Public elementary school. The children need to be in the classrooms in there seats by 7:40 am.. we only live 8 minutes at the most from school. So we got into the car no later than 7:20 to get her there in plenty of time.

I let the kids watch TV if they get ready quickly. Lots less hassle.

When I worked at LaPetite child care in OKC the school kids ate breakfast then went to their classroom where they could play anything they wanted until the van was ready to take them to school.

These school kids would go to school and almost all the teachers would send notes home with them that they were very hard to get on track in the mornings. They'd take hours to calm down enough to focus.

I think there is a direct correlation to going nuts freestyle in the morning and having fun but in a very very limited way. Being mentally prepared for school before you head to school makes sense to me. But making them sit on the couch with their backpacks and coats until everyone is ready isn't very interesting and not much fun. So I do allow TV in the morning and it's usually Jake and The Neverland Pirates or something on Disney.

We are lucky to get DS (8) out of bed, fed, teeth brushed and dressed before the bus comes. If he has a few extra minutes, he takes a nap. We are a pretty low screen time home - Batman on Saturday evenings (the old tv show, DS is addicted) is pretty much it for electronics.

My kids get a few minutes while I'm making breakfast to use the computer, tablet, phone or Wii. I used to allow them to watch TV, but my daughter (age 3) will just stare at the TV while eating her breakfast and never chews, so it takes her forever. I made a strict no TV in the morning rule. Once breakfast starts, all screens go off for the rest of the morning.

The 14 yr old plays on his phone while eating breakfast and waiting for the bus.
The 8 yr old may or may not watch t.v, depending on if she feels like it.
She wants to play on her iPad but that's off limits on school mornings.