Ready…. steady… let’s get the kids to school! Hmmm – if only it was that simple! Getting the kids up and ready for school can feel like a race that you’re never going to win. And when the clock is ticking and every minute counts, the stress can really start to mount.
As a parent, I know this scenario only too well. You get a grumpy child who isn’t happy having to get out of bed. They can’t find their gym kit. The letter from school they were supposed to give you has gone AWOL. And of course when you’re in a hurry to get things sorted, everything takes even longer. The result? A pretty stressed-out, bad-tempered family!
According to a 2014 survey, parents experience a 30% increase in their stress levels when they wake up with the school run looming in front of them. That stress level spikes at 8.15am and doesn’t return to normal until around 2.30pm. So those manic mornings are bad news for parents – and obviously not a great way for the kids to start their day either.
Making things easier in the mornings was the idea behind my Forget Me Not family organiser. To be honest, I don’t know how I ever survived without it. It’s a one-stop place for putting absolutely everything your kids need. There are sturdy pegs for hanging bags and gym kits, a shelf for things like letters, books and keys plus a noticeboard for writing messages and sticking up notes.
It’s really handy for me to keep school-related stuff together but, most importantly, it’s given my 11-year-old son the chance to organise himself. He knows that this is ‘his’ place and that it’s his responsibility to make sure everything he needs is sorted out the night before and here ready for him in the morning. Of course, it doesn’t always go to plan – we still sometimes have last-minute panics over his gym kit – but it’s helping him to become more independent and do things for himself.
It seems to be working most of the time. Now I just need to train him to bring me breakfast in bed at the weekends!
Best wishes,
Geraldine,
Founder and Designer of Tidy Books
