Trying to get your child up in the morning can be a challenge. Trying to get your health challenged child up in the morning can feel almost impossible. You wake up 5 minutes before her alarm, and brace yourself for another morning of tears, perhaps yelling, and sibling chaos.
It can be so very troubling when your child who you KNOW wants to be sweet and can be faces every school morning with a loss of control.
Here is a tip that I suggested to a family with whom I work and I wanted to share it with you. To do this you will need a video recorder and a private place with just you and your child without the sibling “audience”.
Tips on Making a Wake Up Video: Sally to Sally “The Interview”
Ask Sally to make a video in private with just you and your husband and it could be just her on the screen and it could be her "wake up video". Make it no more than 2-4 minutes in length and let her "write the script" --yelling doesn't feel good for her or anyone else. But when she is calm maybe she could "greet herself" each morning when she gets out of bed Play it on a computer, DVD player, etc. but in her room before she does anything else--
For example it could go something like--
Hi Sally this is Sally
We both know you HATE mornings
And it is your bugaboo time
We both know that you are really mad about being rushed
It makes "us" nervous and we feel like everything is falling around us
We HATE to be rushed
Breathe deeply--com'on let's hear it really deep now!!
Listen and Hear me say 3 wonderful things about you (us) 1._________2.__________3._________(creative, brave, tries hard for example)
Now close your eyes as I count to 10 breathe in and out
Picture something really fun or pretty
Now
Open your eyes and have a great day!!
Before she talks, before she brushes her teeth she gets to tell herself that the chaos is inside her—it is manageable and all that she has to do is all do-able!
It is the time limits and organization that I believe is stressing your child out. Other tips include:
§ Setting out clothes the night before
§ Putting the toothbrush out with the toothpaste
§ Shower/bathe at night
§ Put book bag by the door ready to pick up on the way out
§ Set the cereal out the night before so the breakfast choices are made
§ Make lunch the night before and put it in the refrigerator ready to pack
§ Make a checklist that “Sally” can mark off so she gets reinforcement that she is on “track”.
§ Keep morning instructions to a minimum let the routine “do the talking”.
For help with those “Homework Wars” great pointers can be found in “Learning Re-Enabled” 2nd Edition (Elsevier Books).
But most of all, remember that this is not at you it is in her—step back, breathe deeply, and you both will feel better!!
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