This post brought to you by SocialMoms and Silk. All opinions are my own.
Is your child a morning person? Does he jump out of bed the moment you wake up yelling “Hooray! Morning! I can’t wait to go to school! I love getting up before the sun!”? Yes? Oh. Um, well, that’s nice for you! If, however, your child is like mine and groans something about five more minutes before finally dragging himself out of bed, read on for some great tips to shake up your child’s wake up routine.
See, Jacob takes after me. We are not morning people. I get him to bed at a decent hour every night, but come morning he’s still groggy and a little grumpy. Obviously, I can’t give my 7-year-old a strong cup of coffee to start the day (my method of choice), so I need to come up with other ways to get him moving in the morning.
Tips to shake up morning routines
- Make sure your child is going to bed at a decent hour. Jake goes to bed at 9 and gets up at 7:30. This gives him 10.5 hours of sleep, which is about right for his age. No amount of shaking up your wake up routine is going to help an exhausted child face the day. Sleep is essential.
- Give them a pre-wakeup call. Did you know they make clocks that start gently waking you like a half an hour before you actually have to get up? I can’t remember what they’re called or who makes them, but basically it starts interrupting your sleep with barely audible chimes before it goes off for real. It’s supposed to prevent that jarring jolt that makes up jump up and scream “what’s happening!?!?” when the alarm blares in our ears. Apply the same concept to your kids, giving them a “five minutes to wake-up time” warning in a soothing voice.
- Let in the light. Sunlight helps trigger our body’s natural wake-up response, so open those curtains and let sun light shine in! If you live in a dark area, use curtains that naturally let light in. If you’re in the city and trying to block out street lights, get up a few minutes before your kids and open their curtains before waking them.
- Get active! Once you do get them out of bed, get the blood flowing by having them do a few jumping jacks, a little dance, or something active. Join in and you’ll feel better too! Better yet, wake up from head to toe by stretching, shaking and flexing each muscle. Start with the hands and work your way to the toes!
- Don’t skip breakfast. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, especially for kids. They need it to fuel their brains until lunch. Instead of plain juice, try serving Silk Fruit & Protein! It’s a good source of protein, which is essential to brain power, and comes in three delicious flavors: Mixed Berry, Mango Peach, Strawberry Banana. It’s also a great source of calcium and vitamins C & D. If it’s a nice day, eat breakfast on your patio to get some fresh air and sunlight.
Print out this $1 coupon for Silk Fruit & Protein, and grab a carton to try with your family! Silk Fruit & Protein can be found in the dairy case. Find a store near you.
