Morning Routines: 8 Strategies To Get Out The Door Faster -- And Less Frazzled

As infants, our children wreak so much havoc on our sleep that morning can feel like an assault. As they get older, and begin to have lives of their own at preschool and daycare, mornings are less bleary but more hectic.That's why a morning routine is essential. Children thrive when they know what to expect and what they have to do. Implementing a morning routine will make them feel secure and prepared for the day ahead. Even more importantly, it will make your life a little less complicated. Here are several tips to keep morning chaos to a minimum:

Even armed with this advice, there will be mornings you will find yourself in a standoff with your kids over breakfast, braids or Ben 10. (These will inevitably be the days you also happen to have an important morning meeting). When all hell starts to break loose, resist the urge to freak and do what mothers have been doing since time immemorial: take a deep breath and walk through the rest of your day.