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Waking the kids By Nikki Pyle-McDonald
November 9, 2007
It really does matter what kind of mood we wake up in, because it sets the tone for the entire day. It works the same way for kids.
Screaming “Oh my gosh! We’ve never been this late before! Get out of bed—NOW!” just guarantees crabby, stressed out (albeit, awake) kids. Instead try these tricks:
Make up silly stories. For example, tell your child all about the cat’s day. How the cat delivers newspapers in the wee hours of the morning before heading to the library for his other job at the check out counter. Just keep elaborating. Work into the story how the cat feels like an outsider since he’s the only cat employed by the library and how he has to use a litter box instead of the rest room. Make it as far-fetched as possible. You want to get giggles and maybe some story suggestions from your kid as you guide him out of bed.
Perform a cheer. Use your kid’s name. “Morton, Morton, he’s our man, if he can wake up anybody can!” Use some cheers you remember from childhood. When possible, do some kicks, hip shakes and groovy dance moves.
Threaten your child—in a good way. Tell him you are going to call every kid in his class and tell them to come over and have school right there in his bedroom, since he won’t get up. Start naming kids’ names. Get some names wrong so he’ll have to correct you. Make up phony school announcements like, “Attention students and teachers: It’s a great day at (your child’s school). For your information, we are moving our classes today to Morton’s house since he won’t get out of bed. That is all. Thank you.”
Perform a wake-up rap. Don’t worry about making it good or even really rhyming. That’s part of the fun. Be sure to add the “wiki-wiki” of the scratchin’ turntable and end with “word” and a cool Run-DMC pose (showing my age here).
When using all these tactics, be loud and exaggerated. Act like you are having a super-good time. Make the kids want to join in or at least get a look at mom bustin’ a move.
About teenagers: Heading into a teenager’s room is sometimes a dicey proposition. I choose not to begin my day venturing into this peculiar habitat under the cover of pre-dawn darkness. So, to wake teenagers with cell phones (I should say charged cell-phones), give them a wake-up call, like at a hotel. Once they reach a certain level of maturity, this is probably all that’s needed to get them going in the morning.
To some people, these wake-up suggestions may sound like coddling sleepy kids. But it doesn’t hurt to try an upbeat approach. It’s better than starting the day with “You’re so lazy—and grounded.”
About the author: Nikki Pyle-McDonald is a stay-at-home mom who loves to write in and about the ‘burbs of St. Charles County.
Copyright 2007 Neighbors About Town
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A view of the early morning sky in St. Charles County. |
