the morning rush (getting them ready for school)-- help

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Very short or plaited hair saves time.

Slip on shoes.

They must locate their shoes, school equipment etc before going to bed

I would love to put the 9 year old to bed in her clothes, but they wear a scratchy uniform and my daughter doesn't like the feel of it (sensory issues, though she is NT as far as I can tell). I'm realizing from writing all this out the main problems lie with my 9 yr old and not the other two, who are naturally early risers. Waking her up is so difficult, and often even when I've gotten her awake shell fall back to sleep (sometimes on the floor!).

I would seriously consider some sleep testing for her. There must be an issue with either amount or quality of sleep.

I'm a late riser myself, but I have been able to successfully "train" myself for an earlier schedule when I've had to. I also have a great deal of insomnia, and the two are probably related. I remember an art teacher once saying that some people are born with a 25 hour internal clock, instead of 24, and that seems like me to a T. But it CAN be addressed. First and foremost with a vigorously held to bedtime and bedtime routine. Watching foods, activity, etc. She is old enough to work on it with you. Involve her, experiment, AND talk to her doctor.

Agreed on the sleep testing. My husband was always hard to wake and would fall asleep at odd hours and people said it was just something he'd always done even as a child. We eventually got sleep testing done and it turned out he has sleep apnea and he was stopping breathing during the night which meant he didn't sleep properly.

Monitor your daughters sleeping habits for a week if you can before going to see a doctor so you can give them so info to work with. Things like when she goes to bed, wakes up, does she snore, what does the snoring sound like etc.

my AS hubby has always had sleep trouble.....went for a sleep test hoping that we'd get some answers. unfortunately, no answers for what ails him- the only thing they could say was that his brain activity was increased during periods when he appeared to be sleeping.............i do reccomend going for the testing, though. you just never know

Hello,

In the past school as always been a struggle. My dd is 8yrs old & We are not morning people so, It's been difficult. We don't want to be up earlier then we have to. But.. This year we started a few new things that seem to be helping (It was either that or lose my sanity)

We got a clothing organizer for the closet with the day of the week. It is filled with everything she will need. Even the pony holder. I let her choose all the days herself. However only giving her the option of clothing she likes. For instance she loves cotton skorts...So she has about 10. Socks are hard too.... We can only buy the plain white target socks. They are a division of gold toe. Shoes aren't really an issue because she will only wear one pair. We've stated in no uncertain terms that clothing isn't up for debate. Once they are in the slot that is what we are wearing. Suprisingly it has been working.

We MUST allow her plenty of time. She gets up with me a 6-630 & doesn't catch the bus until 805. She can bring her clothing downstairs to dress but isn't allowed to turn on the tv or have breakfast until she is FULLY dressed. Shoes, hair, teeth brushed & all. Once that is completed then she may eat breakfast & veg out to the TV.

We did have some minor issues with shoes last Friday But I just said well, you can put them on now or at the bus stop. She put them on about 5 mins later. but I think toward the end of the week she is getting tired & I was a bit rushed. She feeds off my mood especially in the AM. Thats one I have to keep in check. Try not to react to the negative behavior. I KNOW how hard that is but it does make a difference at our house.

My biggest suggest is allowing MORE TIME & no distractions. As well as few choices. At least at our house the more choices, the more debating which leads to meltdowns.

Good Luck ~ I do know how frustrating it is!



PS although we aren't in uniform this year...We had the same AM arguements when we did. I think the organization has just helped her not feel overwhelmed in the morning. Uniforms are a stuggle I will say. Double check they you have a good fit. My DD can't tolerate anything that is too big or too snug. Or maybe put bike shorts under & buy a bigger size. Then maybe the seams won't rub on her waist & legs. My daughter hated anything under hers but maybe yours will be okay with it.