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Marie Lanen
Head of parenting sections (baby, pregnancy, family), psychology and beauty
In most homes with children, the famous phrase “hurry up” is commonplace in the morning. Did you know that there are techniques to avoid stressing your children (and you)? Here’s advice from a positive parenting expert.
“Hurry up ! This expression is very stressful for children. So much so that they may even slow down and be stunned rather than speed up when they hear it on a daily basis. In addition, this recurring stress will become a negative anchor for their life and they may not be morning people at all when they grow up because they will remember these very stressful mornings.” begins the positive parenting expert, known as @papapositive on TikTok.
Indeed, from getting up to leaving school, this period, feared by parents, can quickly become hell for the whole family. So, to avoid starting the day screaming, crying and stressed, we recommend that you try these alternative methods.
1/ Use tools like the timer
In order to make the child responsible, we can put tools in their hands such as the timer or the hourglass which allows them to more easily visualize the time left before leaving for school or quite simply to frame an action like brushing your teeth.
Please note: we recommend the “Kidytimer” from the Belgian brand Kidywolf. In addition to being very practical, it is really beautiful and blends in with your decor. Very easy to use, children (and parents) will love it!
2/ Test the music
If you don’t have a timer or other time tool; Don’t hesitate to use your phone to play music and ask your child to complete the current task before the end of the song. Here, the idea is to combine fun and efficiency!
3/ Use the expression “as soon as”
According to the expert, to avoid falling into blackmail, we can use the expression “as soon as”. For example, “as soon as you finish brushing your teeth, you can play with your toys.” As a bonus, this allows the child to visualize the steps of their organization.
4/ Enhance the child’s skills
To develop your child’s self-confidence, promoting their skills and actions is an excellent method. “I noticed that you dressed yourself this morning, I admire your organization“, a little phrase to sprinkle regularly to congratulate your child on his successes.
5/ Use fun images
The positive parenting expert advises parents to use visual and fun supports to show the different stages of the morning routine (this also works for the evening routine). These supports allow the child to gain autonomy, you will see they love it!
6/ Rely on children’s imagination
“Which fast animal do you want to play as this morning?” or “Which superhero/heroine do you want to be?”, or “Hello Captain, we have to go to school XX, what are your instructions to be on time?”… So many questions /games which will allow the child to develop his imagination while being useful for the parents. This allows your child to understand the fact of having to organize themselves well so as not to be late in a fun way.
To avoid running during the week, it is better to test these techniques on the weekend in order to train the child and be able to explain to them how certain tools work (images/timer/hourglass). This will also help you identify which method(s) work best with your little one.