Tips for Getting Your Kids Out of Bed in the Morning

Use these tips to get into the school routine a little easier.

Sue Kirchner

Does going back to school mean plying your child out of bed with a crowbar? Does every morning bring a fight between them, you and the covers? Funny how on Saturdays and during the summer they can get up at the crack of dawn, but once school starts it’s game over. Try these tips to make rising and shining a little easier.

Wake up, Little Susie Some kids need time to come awake while others snap to it. You may need to set the alarms early enough to accommodate some sitting-and-staring-into-space time. Another idea to get them out of bed is to set two alarms, one on the opposite side of the room. The fact of having to physically get up and turn it off means your child is that much closer to being awake. There are some fun Talking Kids Alarm Clocks that can ease your child awake with kiss noises or snap them awake with a dinosaur roar. Rise and Shine Try to wake them with their nose. Use favorite smells to lure them out of bed, such as cinnamon-raisin toast, or crispy bacon frying or coffee brewing for teens.

Early to bed, early to rise Tell your child that you will keep pushing bedtime earlier and earlier until they are able to wake up earlier. The thought of having to go to bed at 7:30 p.m. may be just the thing to motivate them to wake up in the morning.

Desperate times call for desperate measures If all else fails, march into your child’s room, bang on a pan with a wooden spoon, singing “The Wheels on the Bus” at the top of your lungs. (While this might be a little cruel, I tend to look at it as payback for waking me up in the middle of the night.)

Hopefully these tips will help get your kids up and out the door in time for the bus. Now go have a cup of coffee and a deep breath!

Interested in more Back-to-School Sanity Saving Tips? Check out our Back-to-School articles.

Sue Kirchner is the founder and President of The Chocolate Cake Club, an e-boutique that aims to inspire and help busy families have more fun, so they can have more “Chocolate Cake Moments” – when they are smiling, relaxed, and enjoying their family. Sue is also the publisher of the Chocolate Cake Moments blog, which shares tips and ideas on how to schedule more family fun and laughter. When she’s not working, she’s home having fun with her husband and two kids.