in our house i am everyone's wake up call. odd, seeing as how i am probably the one who hates getting up the most. my alarm clock has two alarms. i set both of them, usually about 10 minutes apart. my alarm clock is also 20 minutes fast. i have to play with time in the morning because really, even five extra minutes of sleeping, means a world of difference to me. and the idea that i'm "stealing" sleep with the 20minutes is even better.this morning did not run as smoothly as it sometimes does. i wake the girl up between 6:00 and 6:15--she catches the bus at 6:50 (for those of you paying attention we did get her stop moved from the busy street to our driveway. score one for the hubs and his diligence in harassing the county). she has not yet reached the age, though i fear it's coming sooner than we realize, where it takes her long to get ready. she doesn't primp. she has SMOD (standard mode of dress) so there's little choice in what she wears. but, she dawdles. when you prod her along, even pleasantly, like "honey, don't forget to brush your hair and teeth," or "finish up because you only have 5 minutes before the bus comes," she gets all pissy and says you're nagging.
after she gets on the bus i wake the boy and the hubs. i make sure the boy is out of the bed before i get in the shower. the boy is a creature of habit. he gets up and despite the fact that i say no tv until you're ready, he turns on the tv. if he actually got up and got ready he could be out the door in 10 minutes tops. he dawdles. i drive him to school every day and most days i head to work afterwards. some days, when i just can't get my shit together, i drive him to school i my pjs and go back home to finish getting ready for work.
this morning the hubs got up as i was making coffee and trying to prod the girl into action. he was vertical so i decided one of us should be horizontal and it should be me. i went back to bed : ) the hubs got the pleasure of the girl's attitude after he prodded her to get a move on. the led to our discussion about our morning and the kids getting up, etc. both of his parents worked when he was a kid so often he and his 3 sibs got themselves ready for school; the hubs is the youngest of four. my mom often didn't work so she was our alarm clock and prodder; i am the oldest of three.
i'm wondering if perhaps these morning patterns established when we were young have anything at all to do with how we approach morning now and, more importantly, am i ultimately missing out on a life lesson here by not making my kids more responsible for getting themselves up and ready? honestly i can't see me just lying in bed, hoping either of them hear an alarm and hoping either of them brush their teeth and hair without being told to or wearing weather appropriate clothing. i would lie there, stewing, wondering if they're doing what they're supposed to.
at what point do you give them more responsiblity for their mornings? did you have to get yourself up and ready for school? i'm thinking maybe when they're in high school i should start teaching them that, cos lord knows when they go to college they'll have to do it.
5 comments:
I don't remember before high school, but then, I had an alarm clock and got myself up and ready for the day. Back then I was a morning person. Not so anymore.
I am "blessed" with children who wake before our alarm. Rarely do I have to get Meg out of bed. I doubt that will last forever, but we'll see.
Ahhh, the pissy-ness. I am coming to know it well. I still get my kids up, but they're younger than yours. When I was in school, I had to get myself up, and by the time I was in high school, I was completely on my own because my mother left me in the house with her boyfriend, who didn't care if I lived or died.
This is one of those no-win situations, because they *have* to go, so it's not like with a party where if they're not ready, they don't go, and it's a punishment. If they don't go to school, they'll love it, and you'll get in trouble. Argh. I think that, unfortunately, this is IT for the long haul.
kay kay--do you have to prod meg in the AM to get ready for school? i ditto the not being a morning person.
astarte--pissy-ness, omg it's so not fun. josie and the girl sound a lot alike but i hope she doesn't become the drama queen the girl is : ) i am resigned to getting them up and being responsible, but i think maybe next yr i'm giving the girl and alarm. i'll still get up but maybe try to start fostering some responsibility on her end.
I had to do everything for myself when I was younger. I can't even remember my parents being somewhat a part of my morning routine.
Now that both kids are in high school (the youngest just started this year) I give them the responsibility of the alarm, and getting ready. I get up 15 minutes before they leave for school to make sure they have lunch money, and (at least) something in their hands to eat on the bus for breakfast. They're 14 and 16. They need to have some responsibility.
Besides, the girl gets up at 5am to be ready because SHE TAKES FOREVER, and there's no way I'm not sleeping through that.
shere--yeah, when the girl starts needting that much time to get ready, she's on her own. i figure once they get in high school or at least older, i'll hand over more responsibility.
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