How much time for 5yr to get ready in the morning?

[beebalmmama]

So ds has just started kindergarten and is back to needing to get up earlier and be ready before school. He's been out of daycare/preschool for a year, so he has a faint memory of this, but not recent.

Right now we are trying to balance enough sleep, getting him to bed earlier, but also getting him up with enough time to get ready. I feel like so far the mornings are too rushed for him. But we're also still working on some behaviors that are keeping him up a little later than we would like.

Currently here is his schedule:

-Bedtime routine starts at 7:30 or 7:45 (we keep shooting for 7:30)
-In bed for books at 8:00
-Lights out at 8:30 (although sometimes this ends up 8:40 because of resistance)
-Wake up at 7:00

*So I think he still is getting at least 10 hrs of sleep if not 10 1/2. Although over the last few months he will sleep for 11 if we don't wake him up.

He's up at 7:00 pretty quickly, gets dressed and comes down to eat. About halfway through eating and approaching time to brush teeth is when he starts to get distracted. But it's stuff that would be expected, like his baby brother being up and he wants to play with him.

Dh wants to be out the door and in the car by 8:00. But it just seems so fast and I don't see how a child can keep on task enough to go from one thing to another without messing around a little. I understand dh's impatience because he works at the school which is why they need to leave earlier.

I will have little flexibility to take ds to school more than once a week, because I'm taking on some childcare here at home. So we really need to figure this out.

How much time do you think is appropriate to expect him to get ready?

[cowboyjunki]

My son just turned 6 and entered K. He also has been home with me for the last 15 months, and went to one year of PreK before that.

He is in bed at 7:45 and I have to wake him at 6:30 a.m. We leave for school at 7:15 (drop off between 7:30 & 7:45, school starts at 8). So he has enough time to wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush his teeth, and that's about it. It works for us, but maybe your son just needs a little more transition time - every kid is different! I also see us having to allow my son a little more time as the "I don't want to go to school" thing starts (which should be any day now!)

[lyterae]

DD wakes up between 6 and 6:30 most mornings, we have to leave the house by 7:40. She doesn't have a problem quickly getting dressed, it's that she really hates if she has to rush out the door without being able to play for a few minutes. So if for some reason we have to leave earlier or she isn't up by 6:30 I wake her up so that she has time to hang out in her pajamas before rushing her through the get dressed process.

[mommy2maya]

My kids have to leave at 820 for school. They wake up between 730 and 8. We have very on task mornings- they get up, dressed, eat, brush teeth and out the door.

[HappilyEvrAfter]

My kid doesn't like to be rushed, but the only thing that has to be done in the morning is put on clothes and brush teeth (he eats at school).

He goes to bed NLT 9, I drag him to the couch by 6am and he starts getting dressed by 615ish and we're out the door to walk down to the bus stop NLT 635.
Sorry, but I use the SpongeBob show as a guide. He can wallow through the first 15 min "episode", but by the time the commercial set it over he has to start getting dressed or the TV gets turned off. Then at the end of the second 15 min "episode" he has to start getting shoes on..the TV goes off and we head out the door.

Some mornings are easier because he'll put on his underwear, school shirt and socks on after nightime shower and sleep in them.
That usually happens on nights when I know I'll have to be at work extra early for some reason. Than all I have to fight are pants and shoes (and teeth).

It helps that this has pretty much been our routine for a couple of years during the week since he's been going to daycare.

[claras_mom]

Well, what the OP describes is more or less the way it goes down here (though it's hard to get lights out before 9 PM). And it doesn't seem too rushed to me--at least no more than preschool last year.

I get up at 6:45 and make coffee/start breakfast. I start waking dd up at 7. She sleeps pretty hard (and also doesn't like to be rushed) so I have to spend a little time on that and make sure she is actually dressed before she leaves the room. Then breakfast, shoes, teeth and out the door at 8 AM. While she's eating breakfast, etc. I make her lunch and get dressed; dh or I get the baby dressed for daycare. Our routine for now is for dh to drop dd1 and I at the crosswalk, then he goes on and drops dd2 at daycare. Dd1 plays on the playground until the bell rings; she's asked that for now, I stick around until she lines up and walks into the classroom. Then I walk home.

8AM is a little earlier than strictly necessary (school starts at 8:20 and we're only a half mile away). But this way, she and I have some "down" time first thing in the morning, with a short walk and the chance to talk before school, if she wants to. When my teaching starts up again at the local university, we'll have to refine it a little--but I think the basic template will work.

[MJB]

My son is 4.5 and just started K. He has to be there at 8 so we get up at 7. This is the first week but we've been ready in plenty of time all 3 days so far. We live less than 2 miles from his school so we leave at 7:45ish.

[busymama77]

Originally Posted by MJB

My son is 4.5 and just started K. He has to be there at 8 so we get up at 7. This is the first week but we've been ready in plenty of time all 3 days so far. We live less than 2 miles from his school so we leave at 7:45ish.

This will be similar to what we'll experience this time next year. But currently, DS#1 goes to preschool (30 mins away) and DS#2 goes to daycare (5 mins away).
In order for me to get them up, dressed, breakfast, teeth brushed and out the door for me to be at work by 8:15/8:30am, we need to leave the house at 7:15am. DS#1 gets up - usually on his own - at 6:30am and goes to bed at 9pm (but he also takes a 2 hr nap at school). He pees, gets dressed, I brush his teeth and get him breakfast all the while DS#2 is either sleeping or hanging out with DH in our bed (already dressed, changed and fed).

[crowcaw]

We're in bed at 7:00, asleep by 7:30, up easily at 6:30, dressed (clothes picked out the night before and no mind changing allowed, other than for weather) and having breakfast around 7, but don't leave the house until 8:15. It is twins getting ready but no younger sibs distracting. We seem to take much longer than everyone else! But it isn't rushed and there's usually time for a book or two before we leave the house (the incentive to get through the final prep of toothbrushing and hair combing).

[Melaniee]

Some days we had less than an hour last year. Early on, I found what worked with my son was to get all the 'business' done first. If he finished quickly, he could play, if not then not. Where we ever went wrong was straying from that to allow some playtime before dressing.

So our schedule was get up, bathroom and brush teeth, eat breakfast, get dressed (clothing would be layed out the night before), then play or go straight to shoes and get into the car.

Having a second slightly complicates this, but she's a faster kid than he is so it's not such a problem in that regard, just her will to do it.

[Drummer's Wife]

My 5 yr old doesn't need too much time to get ready. I wake the kids up between 8:00-8:15, and they get dressed, eat breakfast (unless they are eating at school that day), brush teeth and comb hair. Then it's just getting their shoes and backpacks on and kissing goodbye (they ride the bus). IME, my kids get distracted and want to do other things if I allow too much time before they have to leave - so if they are up earlier, they dawdle more and have too much free time. 30-35 minutes seems about perfect for us.

[liberal_chick]

My ds just started K. He went to pre-K until May and then was home with me all summer.

I get him up at 7 and we are out the door at 7:30-ish. All he has time to do is get dressed and brush his teeth, but he doesn't go to sleep for probably an hour after we put him to bed so I want him to be able to sleep as late as possible. He gets into bed between 8 and 8:30, usually, but many times he'll still be awake at 10. When left to his own sleeping pattern, he'll sleep until 9 or 10 in the morning.

Drop off at school begins at 7:30 and the first bell is at 7:55.

[meemee]

depends on the personality. ex could get out of bed and be out the door brushed, dressed and fed within 20 mins.

me - minimally an hour.

dd - like me enjoys a lazy slow morning. so getting her up early is the key and yup an hour is good enough time. except we REALLY struggle to get to bed on time.

[beebalmmama]

Originally Posted by Drummer's Wife

My 5 yr old doesn't need too much time to get ready. I wake the kids up between 8:00-8:15, and they get dressed, eat breakfast (unless they are eating at school that day), brush teeth and comb hair. Then it's just getting their shoes and backpacks on and kissing goodbye (they ride the bus). IME, my kids get distracted and want to do other things if I allow too much time before they have to leave - so if they are up earlier, they dawdle more and have too much free time. 30-35 minutes seems about perfect for us.

That is a good point! I can see this could be a problem for ds too.

Right now I just feel like dh is walking behind him like a task master, reminding him to keep moving and what comes next. I would at least like ds to be able to talk to us in the morning. Problem is he CANNOT talk and get ready at the same time. Maybe it's the talking with his hands that he does, just like dh. Ds's mantra has always been 'I don't like to do two things at the same time!".

Or maybe what bothers me is dh's repetition on telling ds what comes next that feels so busy to me. It sounds like the time he has is not out of the normal range so maybe we'll just give it a little more time to get in the new routine.

[Millie Ivy]

Is your kiddo seeming bothered or stressed by your dh "keeping him on task"? Everyone is different and works differently, so if it were my situation I would let them work it out if it's not causing stress. My dd likes me to be kept on task like that. Even if she doesn't feel like it when she's just woken up she still wants me to do it, and will ask later for me to make sure I remind her.
At least give it a week or two and then if you feel like it's not the best way to handle your kid's morning talk to your hubs at night when kids in bed and see if you can figure out an alternative plan.

[Millie Ivy]

also, my 8 and 9 year olds are now getting to bed between 8:30-9 (we aim for 8:30 knowing that it gives us some flexibility and that lights are out by 9 no later.) Then we are all up between 6:30 and 6:45. Kids get dressed, make beds, drink some "coffee" with me (hehe, a splash of coffee, warm raw milk, and stevia, it's a few minutes to wake up and talk to mom) eat a light breakfast and get their stuff ready to go, teeth brushed, and shoes on. We are out the door at about 7:25 to walk to school. This doesn't leave much time to fart around, which is good because that would make them dawdle. In fact, today we had a few extra minutes and dh and ds2 were up so ds1 started playing and we didn't get out of the house till 7:30. So, keeping on task and getting out definitely works better for us!
(I need the discipline too, if I settle into my cuppa too long I don't want to get up and walk them, and I think we all need the walk in the morning for various reasons.)

[Drummer's Wife]

Originally Posted by beebalmmama

That is a good point! I can see this could be a problem for ds too.

Right now I just feel like dh is walking behind him like a task master, reminding him to keep moving and what comes next. I would at least like ds to be able to talk to us in the morning. Problem is he CANNOT talk and get ready at the same time. Maybe it's the talking with his hands that he does, just like dh. Ds's mantra has always been 'I don't like to do two things at the same time!".

Or maybe what bothers me is dh's repetition on telling ds what comes next that feels so busy to me. It sounds like the time he has is not out of the normal range so maybe we'll just give it a little more time to get in the new routine.

I'm guilty of being a task master, myself. My kids will say, mom! stop telling me what to do - I know I need to get my shoes on. But the thing is, if I don't bug them, they are slooooow, and easily distracted. I try to do it all in a nice, light way, b/c I don't want our day starting out stressed.

DH did his first morning alone with the kids yesterday, and they did complain to me that he was "hurrying us along too quickly" so I assume he didn't wake them up early enough, or underestimated how long each thing would take (though, as I said up-thread, they really can get through the process in a short amount of time). This was even with me laying out clothes, backpacks, socks, undies, etc. sheesh. Oh, and DH forgot to have the brush their teeth! ugh. He said, hey, I got everything else done and they made it to the bus on time. I'm sure he'll have it down with more experience. And of course, the kids will get older and more responsible and hopefully they'll be able to do everything from waking themselves up to getting to the bus or car on their own - while I sip tea on the porch. ahhhh.

[elmh23]

Dd (age 5.5) naturally gets up between 6-7am. Dh and I do not and are forced out of our bed by the alarm clock at 6:45 or 6:55 (he usually gets up at 6:45 and gets everyone breakfast, I try to sleep as long as possible!) School starts at 8:15 and is only 10 minutes away, but because of morning traffic, we get in the car at 7:50. I made a rule that we all get ready to go and then if there is time left over (there usually is) then we can play. Now that dd is starting to read, I'm considering making a chart up for her to hang in the bathroom so she can read exactly what needs to happen after breakfast (teeth, hair, dressed, shoes) and that way I don't have to keep on telling her what to do.

[Melaniee]

Originally Posted by beebalmmama

That is a good point! I can see this could be a problem for ds too.

Right now I just feel like dh is walking behind him like a task master, reminding him to keep moving and what comes next. I would at least like ds to be able to talk to us in the morning. Problem is he CANNOT talk and get ready at the same time. Maybe it's the talking with his hands that he does, just like dh. Ds's mantra has always been 'I don't like to do two things at the same time!".

Or maybe what bothers me is dh's repetition on telling ds what comes next that feels so busy to me. It sounds like the time he has is not out of the normal range so maybe we'll just give it a little more time to get in the new routine.

That is the situation that I try to avoid around here as well. My son is the same...cannot talk and get ready. Though I can't just leave him totally alone or I'll find him gazing off into the mirror and not dressed. LOL. It requires me to check in, but honestly the 'free play time' before we leave was a big motivator for him, so he'd generally hustle on his own. There were definitely those other kind of days, mixed in, though.

[newbymom05]

I have a new kindy student and a similar schedule to the OP. I can't stand to be rushed, so I lay out DS's clothes and pack up his lunch/backpack the night before, and plan what b'fast will be and tell DH/DS. I get up at 6:30 and get ready for my day and DH wakes DS up at 7. So far we have had plenty of time to leave by 7:50--today he even had time to draw a little. Since I'm totally ready to go by 7:15, I spend the time riding herd on DS (making sure he's dressed, eaten, etc.). My goal is to have all the necessary stuff done by 7:30 so he can goof off.