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Weekday mornings are primed for failure, just by their very nature: There are countless to-dos but not a lot of time to do them. Add little not-morning-people to the mix, and it?s no wonder the experience can leave you weary. We can?t promise there won?t be tantrums (from kids or parents), but we can offer strategies to get past some of the common morning dilemmas.
1. There?s never enough time

If every morning feels like a mad rush because your kid?s a late riser, don?t revamp your routine until you consider whether he?s going to bed early enough. ?If they?re falling asleep at 10 p.m. and waking at eight, they?re not waking up late?they?re just getting their full sleep,? says Julie Romanowski, a parenting coach in Vancouver. (The American Academy of Pediatrics says one- and two-year-olds need 11 to 14 hours of sleep, while three- to five-year-olds need 10 to 13 hours; those figures include daytime naps. Kids ages six to 12 need nine to 12 hours each night.) If there?s just not enough sleep happening in your household, then you should obviously work on getting kids to bed earlier. But during the transition?or if you?ve just got one of those kids who needs more than the average amount of sleep?the key to a smooth morning is to have everything ready the night before or, at least, before they get up. That?s the only thing that has worked for Luisa Magalhaes, a mom in Peterborough, Ont., who wakes her five- and three-year-old up at 7:30 to be out the door b...