Whether it is leaving for school on a morning or making a quick trip to the shops, kids slow the process down.  We love them but sometimes the smaller members of the household can turn a simple four item shop into an hour long ordeal.  Or you constantly find yourself running late on a morning and never have enough time.  It is one of the less ideal things about having kids but how can we parents deal with these little obstacles in a positive way?

The morning routine

Most parents will admit that the morning routine is probably the biggest source of frustration for them.  You find yourself moving around the house like a whirlwind, throwing together lunches, prompting the kids to eat their breakfast, getting yourself organised and there’s never enough time!

To get control of that morning routine, one of the first things to do it take a harsh look at it.  Do you give yourself enough time for everything that needs to be done?  Do you need to slice 15 minutes off your sleep time to allow yourself more time to get organised? Also, look at jobs you can do the night before – preparing lunches might be one or packing the kids school bags with their PE kits and other essentials. 

A ‘drop zone’ near the door is another popular idea – everything that needs to go out of the door with you and the kids is deposited here.  This can be bags, shoes, jackets, your handbag or anything else that you end up hunting around for on a morning.

Going shopping

As kids age, the process of going shopping with them changes but doesn’t always get easier!  As young kids, they want to investigate everything then they want you to buy everything and finally they hate going shopping and complain all the time. 

At the first stage, you can involve them in the process while satisfying their curiosity.  Let them help you pick which of the apples to buy or select a bag of crisps that they want to eat later.  Make sure you leave more time for the trip than in pre-child days so you can satisfy their curiosity about what this is or why people buy that item.

As they get older, give them tasks while shopping.  One idea is to put them in charge of the discount vouchers and coupons and make the whole process a bit of a treasure hunt – find the item in that picture so we can get it cheaper.  You can even send them off to buy things if they are confident enough and this makes them feel part of the process.

Get them involved

Let’s face it, while there are ways to ease the slow down that happens when you have kids, you never eliminate it entirely.  So why not embrace that everything will take a little longer?  Get the kids involved in whatever you are doing, whether it is shopping, cooking or even a spot of DIY. Here are 5 DIY jobs that you can do with your kids  

Leave a little more time and spark their interest in what you are doing – you never know where it might lead.

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