| Hi Kathy.... it's me again! We have such similar lives. I'm glad I'm not the only one who lives an insane life :) My six year old either has really great mornings or dreadful mornings. Since school has started it's been smooth so far. I just keep him to a strict time schedule. His bus comes at 7 (I'm already gone, I leave for work at 6:15) and he and my husband are like oil and water. So... at night we lay out the entire ensamble for the next day: pants, socks, shirt, shoes, belt, etc. We stick to that outfit- no changing in the A.M. no matter what! I get him up at 5:55 and he then brushes his teeth, comes downstairs, I give him meds, he goes up stairs to get dressed. By this time I am gone so I'm not exactly sure what happens after that but my hubby says he's been doing fine. This morning he did play a little bit in his room with kinex (or however you spell it) when he was suppose to be getting dressed but I just reminded him to get dressed and then whatever time he had left he could play before going to the bus. Seth seems to respond well to "his time." I will say something like ... get dressed quickly and the time remaining is all yours to do what you want while you wait for the bus. he likes having time that he thinks he has earned or saved up. I also put him to bed at 7:30. ADHD kids need a lot of sleep and especially with our early mornings. I know that the laying out of the clothes helped things 100% because that was most of our battles in the past. He could NEVER choose a shirt. His closet looks like half of the Gymboree store yet he could never ever never ever pick a flaming shirt. Anyway- I digress. I have no real answer for you at this time- but I do know what you feel like.... there is a special place in heaven for moms like us ! :) ↑ |
Jennifer,
It is quite funny that we keep meeting up in the same places. I think it was meant to be that we can help eachother out. It is nice to know there is another mother going through what I face on a daily basis so that I know I am not crazy.
I have been laying Austin's clothes out at night and shockingly enough he got dressed before he came out of his room this morning. He gets up at 7 because it takes him a while to get out of bed so I have to start him earlier then his sister. I am going to try the method of if he gets everything done quicker he will have time to play before the bus comes and see if that works. I think the biggest challange in the morning is to brush his teeth. He really doesn't like to do that but when I took him to the dentist he already had 2 cavities. He is also 6 so I feel like this is really meant for us to chat. My son and husband are also like oil and water and it doesn't help. They fight alot because my husband doesn't have the patience to deal with him so it makes it very hard.
He goes to bed before 8:30 but I do know if he doesn't get enough sleep he is miserable in the morning. I try to get him to start getting ready by 8 so he is in bed exactly at 8:30 which is not always easy. I think once it gets darker out I might be able to get him in bed a little earlier.
I would love to keep in touch so if you are interesed here is my e-mail address. [email protected]
Thanks for the advise I will let you know if it works ↑ |
| Hello There. I have an 8 year old son with ADHD and mornings at our house were horrible. He would never eat his breakfast, get dressed or anything. It was all a battle. So my husband and I made a schedule and drew clocks next to each entry. We started out on Sunday's making a "menu" for the week as to what we would eat for breakfast each day. With it written down, there was no argument over what to eat and what not to eat. Then we drew clocks and next to each one wrote down what he needed to do at that time: 7:00 eat breakfast; 7:15 get dressed; 7:30 brush teeth. Then Zach new what he had to do when, and how much time he had for playing once it was all done. It has worked great for us. It's made the mornings so much more pleasant. ↑ |
| The clocks sound like a good idea. I may give that a try. Thanks for the idea! ↑ |
| I am having the same problem! I hate mornings! ↑ |
Terri,
That is a great idea!! I think I might try it too. I am desperate to have better mornings with my son. This morning was horrible and he went to school without eating all of his breakfast. I would do anything for a better less stressful morning with no fighting. ↑ |
| Glad to have helped. Also, what has worked for us is we get him up earlier in the morning than what he really needs to be. That way we are not so rushed. He has time to wake up and check the menu and schedule. We find if we tell him...okay look at the clock, what do you have to do at 7:00, he knows and it isn't a "surprise" to him. ↑ |
