HELP! Get kids dressed and out to school in the morning

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Preschoolers

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eishes

Thu, Mar 15 2012, 12:45 pm

I have a pretty solid morning routine for my kids (age 3): get up, play a bit, eat breakfast, get dressed, go to school.

Everything usually works well until the "getting dressed" part. Some days, the kids are good about coming and getting dressed, some with my help, some they do on their own. Other days (like today!) they completely ignore me when I say it's time to get dressed, instead playing and talking to each other. When I do get them to put something on, they do it very distractedly and then go run and play again. I end up chasing them around the house trying to get them dressed.

This morning there was not a lot listening on their part and a lot of frustration on my part. The kids ended up going to school late and a bit upset which I know is not good as it will affect their day.

I know that this is not an ideal situation, and that there has got to be a better way of doing this, but I'm not sure what to do different. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

CherryBerry

Thu, Mar 15 2012, 12:58 pm

my advice is to use lots of positive reinforcement, aka bribe them.
your kids are still small, and I guarantee you wont still be fighting with them to get them dressed when they are teens. so its not a discipline issue, you really just need coping strageies on hw to get through this stage.

have you tried sticker charts?
try an extra treat with breakfast if they are dressed before they eat, like chocolate milk instead of regular.
if you have an upstairs and downstairs, try to get them dressed before going down stairs in the first place.
they should get up, dress up, then go play.
its fine even if your bribes are very short term, like today I'll give you a cookie as soon as you are dressed (NOT IF you get dressed I'll give you a cookie, b/c then they'll never dress without it.)
you need small strategies for emergency use on hard days. not a long term plan at this age.
another thing once they are in the habit of dressing easily (even for bribes) it'll get easier and easier to get them dressed, you wont be doing this forever.

curlytop

Thu, Mar 15 2012, 2:09 pm

Sometimes when you dress them right away while they are still half-sleeping, they arent awake enough to fight you. Good luck

AlwaysGrateful

Thu, Mar 15 2012, 3:12 pm

Eh, no bribes needed. Just change the schedule.

You get up, you get dressed, then you play. Not dressed yet? Well, I guess you can't play then.

From your OP, it's not really clear the ages of your kids. Twins, age three? (Because you say "age 3" and then "they.")

You can also make it fun for them. My three year old likes to be "first" in everything. So you can do something like "Whoever can get me their socks from the drawer first can get them on first!" Or make a "beat the clock" with both kids to see how quickly you can get both of them dressed.

If all else fails, make a pile of clothes for each child. Pick up the entire pile, and put it near a corner. Put child on your lap facing the corner (harder for them to run off), hold onto them tightly while changing them, tell them a story or just talk to them to keep their interest, and finish with one kid completley before moving on to the next. They may not mind. If they do, tell them that you'll give them a chance to prove to you that they can sit there and wait the whole time they get dressed, and if they can do it, you won't have to dress themi n the corner anymore.

eishes

Thu, Mar 15 2012, 3:58 pm

Thank you for the responses.

AlwaysGrateful, yes they are twins age 3.

Also, in general, I don't get them dressed before breakfast because if they spill or something during breakfast then I end up having to change them, adding more to the morning. So that's why I have been doing it in this order.

Kaybee

Thu, Mar 15 2012, 4:48 pm

I also find it the easiest when they are dressed first thing in the morning.

curlytop

Thu, Mar 15 2012, 10:21 pm

eishes wrote:

I get that, but I think it may be easier for you to do it first thing and get it out of the way. Maybe bibs? I'm kidding , right? My kids don't wear bibs past like 1 yr old lol

DrMom

Thu, Mar 15 2012, 11:31 pm

AlwaysGrateful wrote:

Eh, no bribes needed. Just change the schedule.

You get up, you get dressed, then you play. Not dressed yet? Well, I guess you can't play then.
.

Yup.

If getting dirty is a problem, use bibs.

Another idea: Put small sticker labels around a large clock. "When the big hand reaches the seven (sticker with picture of shirt), you need to be dressed; when it reaches the ten (pic of food), you need to be all finished with your breakfast, etc." Reinforce with a sticker chart.

Yet another idea (I've never done this -- yet! -- but I know other parents who have): Send them to school in their pajamas with their clothes in their bags. They'll be embarassed enough that it won't happen again (or so I've been told).

AlwaysGrateful

Fri, Mar 16 2012, 10:22 am

At this age? Na, that's for older kids Dr. Mom. My four year old would still think it's fun to come to school in his PJs.

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