Managing morning madness

After a long summer of sleeping late, playing outside and lying around, children and their parents can become overwhelmed adjusting to the busy back-to-school schedule. The tricks to a stress-free morning are planning ahead and sticking to routines.

• To avoid last-minute scrambling in the morning, keep book bags, stocked with completed homework assignments and other school necessities, near the door along with coats and shoes.
• Give your child a bath and choose his or her clothing the night before. Have the clothing pressed and ready to go.
• Decide on breakfast and lunch foods ahead of time and have those foods easily accessible for cooking or packing in a lunch box. You may even want to make your child's lunch the night before and refrigerate.
• Avoid distractions, such as TV or video games. They will only captivate your child's attention and cause him or her to rush later.
• Build cushions into your family's schedule so you don't feel frazzled.
• Keep your child from being rushed by providing gentle reminders. For example, "The school bus will be here in 10 minutes, so you'll need to put your shoes on."