Congrats to Rebecca G.! You are the winner of the gift card!

  Raise your hand if your children jumped out of bed on the first day of school this year, bright-eyed and ready to start off a brand new year of learning. Good. Mine too. Now, raise your hand if your children are still jumping out of bed every morning with such gusto and enthusiasm. Yeah, not so much, huh? Unless your child is  some sort of super child who always does what is expected of him/her or attends clown school (because who could not get up on time for clown school??), I imagine there are school mornings that can be rough. Children do not want to get out of bed. Parents lose their patience. Yelling, crying, and frustration all occur before anyone has had a chance to consume a bowl of corn flakes. Hectic school mornings are no fun for anyone. Here are a few tips for getting kids up and out of the house on time and at school, ready to learn.

• Do the prep work at night. Waiting until morning to choose clothes for the day, sign homework sheets and make a lunch will only add stress to one’s morning routine. Instead, do all these things the night before. Many of these jobs can be quickly accomplished after dinnertime, especially when a child is expected to help.

 

• Ask the child how he/she would like to be woken up in the morning.This sounds a bit silly and a bit pampered, but think about how you like to be woken up in the morning. Are you an alarm person? Do you like for someone to gently say your name to wake you up? Everyone has a preference in how they like to be woken up…including kids. Ask your child what they deem a good way to be woken up in the morning. Let them know that you are willing to wake them up in their preferred manner as long as they are willing to get out of bed on time (one can only sweetly whisper a name so many times until they have to resort to the dreaded “turning on the lights” method.).

 

• Set and enforce a bedtime. Children who have gotten adequate rest during the night tend to be able to get up easier in the morning. Sleep is important for growth and learning. Have a bedtime and stick to it during the school week.

 

• Set and enforce consequences.School, like work,  is a responsibility. When a child misses or is late due to his own doing, there needs to be consequences. Let children know that school is a requirement and that there will be set consequences that will occur when a child does not get up on time. Perhaps video game privileges are lost or cell phones are put away for a few days when a child does not get up on time. Establish consequences for children who cannot get out of bed and to school on time and enforce those consequences when needed.

 

• Stay positive. Hectic school mornings can be absolutely maddening for parents. By the time everyone is in the car or loaded up on the bus on such mornings,  the  entire family is grouchy due  to the negative slant the morning has taken. Stay positive with children on school mornings. Let them know the expectations, enforce consequences when needed and approach the situation with a smile.

Old Navyhas gotten involved this school year in making sure that children are at school every day and ready to learn. They are so committed to children being in attendance at school, that they are stepping out into communities (including ours!) and providing incentives for children willing to sign their Attendance Pledge. In order to rally students and get them excited about attending school, Old Navy did the following things for the students of the Dallas area:

•  To boost attendance in the Dallas Independent School district, Old Navy awarded shopping sprees to 200 lucky students who pledged to go to class more often
•  Doors opened early on Saturday, August 28 at the Town East Mall Mesquite Old Navy location for students to get free back- to-school clothes in exchange for an attendance pledge
• Event included brief remarks to the students from the drop out guru , Rene Martinez, on the importance of education and attendance
• In addition to the spree, Old Navy will open this shopping experience up to all students at the four local schools (Frazier, Bowie, Burleson, Tasby and Zumwalt Elementary) who are participating to be rewarded with gift cards if they receive perfect attendance at the end of the year.

Now, Old Navy is asking YOU how you will make sure your children are attending classs. Leave a comment and let BurbMom and Old Navy know how you are making sure your children are out of bed and at school on a daily basis. On Thursday October 21st one comment will be chosen at random and that individual will be awarded a $50 Old Navy gift card. *I do not know about you, but fifty dollars to Old Navy sure makes it easier for me to get out of bed in the mornings.* Want another chance to enter and win? Tweet and/or Facebook this contest. Be sure to leave a comment letting us know you have done so and you can have (up to) two more additional entries for a chance to win a $50 Old Navy gift card.