It is not your responsibility to get your children out the door on time.  It’s theirs!  Your only contribution is to complete your assigned tasks on time (making their lunch or combing their hair).  As long as you are not hindering your child’s progress in the morning, you can not be blamed if they miss the bus or the carpool.  Once a child realizes that no one is going to rescue them if they are running late, they will figure out a way to be on time.  That may mean that your child will miss a day or two of school, but they probably won’t miss a third.  (Do not allow the day at home to be “fun”.  Since they are supposed to be in school, they could spend their time reading, studying, or doing chores, but NO TV.)

If, and only if, your child asks for your help with this situation you may want to discuss some of the following suggestions:

• Do as much as possible the night before: get forms signed, lunch made, bookbag packed, and clothes laid out.
• Write out a schedule for the morning routine.  Include suggested time limits, such as Eat Breakfast- 15 minutes.
• Use a kitchen timer or alarm clock to keep track of time.
• Establish an incentive for getting ready early, such as reading aloud to your child from a chapter book, watching TV, or playing video games. (Be sure to set an alarm for when it’s time to leave.)

You may feel like you are not being a “good” mom if you don’t help your child get ready.  This just isn’t true.  You’re doing a great job! Your child needs to learn how to do a great job too!  Let them learn from their errors.

Encouragement: A publication by Angela DiCicco and Gail Signor.