Chances are, parents are a few days into the new school year routine. As chief driver and morning routine manager, you know that the honeymoon period is coming to an end as the children opt for that extra 5 minutes in bed or that sneaky game on their screens.
You've had fun sharing the photos of your little ones in their new school uniforms, polishing their shoes and helping them to pack their bags. You have been full of resolutions about this new school year - homework will be done on time, clothes will be laid out the night before, you will never, ever shout before 8.00am.
So guess what? You have committed all the cardinal sins of school run management by the time the first week is up. Here are the tried and tested top 5 tips from Albone Daniel, to keep you up and running during term time.
1.Remember to feed them. Looking after the basics helps the rest to fall into place. If your children are eating well, sleeping well and feeling good about school, the school run will have its hiccups but it won't go into full meltdown before you have left the house. This means batch and freeze cooking so that most meals can be home cooked, starting the move towards bed from early o'clock and making time to talk to your children about their day.
2.Don't be naked. Getting up before they do is painful, but stealing 10 minutes of the day so that you can be up and dressed before they are will make all the difference. If you get caught up in an unexpected "lost my homework" moment, at least you'll have some clothes on.
3.Cheat. Don't leave the school run til the morning - do it all the night before. An extra ten minutes the night before to get bags packed and clothes laid out, saves you time and stress on the morning itself. To help children who are still learning self-management, write out a crib sheet for them with timings so that 8.10am At Front Door, will be a reality.
4.Live in the car. If you do the school run by car, have spare everything in there, from cereal bars and drinks to pens, pencils, hairbrushes and even a toothbrush. That way, when things get really dire, you can just scoop up all the little people and place them in their mobile living room so you can get them to class on time.
5.Spoil yourself. We all know that parents have already done a day's work by the time the children get to school. Promise yourself something lovely with all that extra free time you've gained by being on time, like a coffee by yourself, a meet up with a friend who lives near school, or a gym class.