16 Stress Free Morning Routine Ideas For Single Moms

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I am going to give you morning routine ideas for single moms. Here is an example of what a great single mom morning routine will get you. This morning I was 10 minute early getting out of the door and my son was able to tell me that we were 10 minutes early. And that time when I oversleep by 20 minutes it was my son that came into my room to wake me up to tell me what time it was because we were going to be late.

My son is not some miracle child and trust me it was not always the case, but after mastering my morning routine and getting my son on the same page life has become easier and mornings because less hectic. Gone are the days of screaming for my child to get ready, running late for work, or getting frustrated because I feel like I am always behind. In all honestly I did not have many of those days anyway as I started this whole morning routine thing with both my son and I very young.  Which you can watch my video down below where I talk about how to train a child up in the way they should go. And don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube Channel by clicking the link down below as well.

In fact, my morning routine is so on point that I rarely have to say anything to my son because he just knows what to do, when to do it, how to do it, and what time to do it. And as dreamy as this sounds this too can be you. You do not have a lot of time to waste  sitting around arguing with your kids and making sure that you all get out of the door on time. Hovering over them every second of the morning making sure they they are dressed on time, making sure that they have brushed their teeth, making yourself late in the process.

This does not have to be your normal way of life. I am a single mom so I get it. I have to get ready, get dressed, put on my make up, and get to work on time.  I do not have time to sit around and bead around the bush with the kid in the morning about random things that are just going to cause me to be late. I do not have time to do my makeup in the car and finish getting ready at work.

Nope, me and my child are both fully dress when we  leave the house, me with a full face of makeup on, not looking any kind of way because I did not have time to get ready. All because, I have perfected the single mom morning routine and dare I say you can to. So lets get into the morning routine ideas for single moms.

1. Morning Routine Ideas For Single Moms ~  It Starts The Night Before

My single mom morning routine often starts the night before. I am not a morning person. My brain is barely awake in the morning and therefore I do not like doing a whole bunch of things in the morning. When you wait until the morning to do things that is when you run late.  And in the morning is when you tend to try to remember things and if you cannot remember everything that is when you feel frazzled thus making you more late.  Therefore, the best thing is to do what you can the night before.   Some of the key areas you want to focus on are:

2. Morning Routine Ideas For Single Moms ~ Making sure they have a set bedtime.

That means if your child’s bed time is at 9pm they should be in the bed by 9pm. Not taking a bath, not getting ready to climb into the bed, and not brushing their teeth but they should be in the actual bed. And they should KNOW that.  Do not engage in an argument with them back and forth. And if they say they forgot to do something and it is 9pm that sounds like their problem, they go to bed.

They need to learn how to plan better next time.  There is no ( I forgot to call my friend), I forgot to tell you this, I just remembered… that is called oh well. I know this sounds harsh BUT you have to teach your child the constraints of time and if you start to get more and more lenient on their bed time then you are not teaching them to stay on schedule.  The more you do this the more they will learn how to manage their time better and will start to require less and less supervision.

The morning routine for school can be disrupted if your child is fighting you in the morning to wake up. Make sure they get at least 8 hours and if they are still drowsy in the morning then put them to bed earlier.  Making sure to take away and electronic devices and/or toys that may be keeping them up in the night. If they are sneaking and watching TV in the middle of the night then be sure to take that out of their room too.  Make sure they are in the bed at a certain time and make sure that they are free from distractions and getting the right amount of sleep.

3. Morning Routine Ideas For Single Moms ~ Get Their Clothes Ready

For your single mom morning routine depending on the age of the child you may have to get their clothes ready or they may get their own clothes ready. Either way it does not matter.  When they wake up, spending less time picking out and ironing their clothes is important to a good morning routine for school.

If their clothes are set out and prepped already then all they should have to do is put them on. Which most children over a certain age can do that on their own and they should not need your help. That means that you should not have to sit in the morning and watch them do this.

BUT I will say this.  In the beginning your child may daydream and move very slow with putting on their clothes.  So at first  I do not recommend supervising them constantly, BUT I do recommend gentle reminders.  My gentle reminders include telling my son every few minutes asking my son what his status was, but that is what works for us.  To each their own.  You may check on your child visually and remind them how much time they have left until they are able to get dressed without playing around on their own.  Mind you this also applies for yourself.  Getting your own clothes ready the night before helps a lot because in the morning you are not wondering what you are going to wear you already know and I promise you this takes off so much time in your morning routine.

4. Morning Routine Ideas  For Single Moms ~ Take a Bath at Night

My son does not need to take a bath at night and in the morning.  He is not getting that dirty while he is sleeping.  Having them take a bath at night means that they are not taking one in the morning. Which means that they are wasting less time in the morning. A lot less time in the morning.  Instead,  all they have to do is do what my grandmother use to call a wash off.  Meaning that you get a wash rag wash your face and other key areas to freshen up and that it is.  Once again I take my shower at night as well.

5. Morning Routine Ideas For Single Moms ~ The hair

For your single mom morning routine it can be alot easier if you don’t have to deal with your hair. This is for the you single moms and for you that have little girls.  For myself, especially as a black woman, I find myself doing my hair at night and then tying it up at night.  In fact, I am winning if I can keep the same style for a few days on end.  I promise you this saves me 30 minutes in the morning minimum.   I do have a YouTube Channel where I give some hairstyles and you can view my playlist here and don’t forget to subscribe to my channel. You can also click here to see a blog that I did about easy hairstyles that you can do, just do your hair at night, wrap your hair, and take your scarf off in the morning.  And your hair is done.  See my video below:

Now as for the little girl’s hair I also recommend that you do something at night with her hair and tie it up. In fact, if can do a style that last for the whole week that will save you some major time from doing her hair each night.  Since I do not have a little girl, I will show you a single mom YouTuber that I wrote about here on how she went from broke to successful, where she does several hair tutorials with her little girl that you may like.

Once again the key to making this work is putting a satin scarf on you and to keep the hairstyle fresh and lasting as long as possible.

6. Morning Routine Ideas For Single Moms ~ Keep Your Single Mom Morning Routine Simple

For the best single mom morning routine be the best at keeping it simple. I am the master of keeping things simple.  I do not want to stress out in the morning or run around like a chicken with my head cut off.  Therefore simplicity and efficiency is key. I think where people go wrong is that they are trying to be the perfect mom and superwoman making their child a 5 course meal in the morning and creating a Brady Bunch moment thus wasting time making you late.  I give you permission to cut all of that time consuming nonsense out and choose efficiency over doing time consuming things.  Here is where you can simplify your morning routine.

7.  Morning Routine Ideas For Single Moms ~ Keep the Hygiene Routine Simple

At this point your kids should be bathed, well rested, and their clothes should be out.  So as far as getting ready all that needs to be done is them putting on their already picked out clothes, washing their face, and brushing their teeth. And you need to limit this all to 15 minutes. AND YES LIMIT IT. Do not let your child drag on and on in the bathroom doing God knows what.

Just like I said before you may have top keep them on track verbally at first, then a timer, and then if they just cannot stay on track after a reasonable amount of time of the mourning routine then that is when you issue a consequence.   This would include going to bed earlier and getting up earlier telling them that since they need more time apparently this is what needs to happen.  The idea is not for them to be like this forever but to learn if you want to sleep in later and go to bed later then they need to make the most of the time they are given.

Of course if you have teen girls that need more time with their hair then yes give them more time.  But  I have a boy so it takes like less than a minute to brush his hair. But for girls, who knows how long their hair can take. So come up with a reasonable time frame for them to do their hair and make them stick to it. But like I said consider having them do their hair at night.

8. Morning Routine Ideas For Single Moms ~ Keep Your Kid On Track

Remember this is a morning routine not a run wild and take forever to get ready routine.  In the beginning they may need some extra help.  As in tell them to get up and tell them they have 30-45 minutes to get ready. And stick too that.  Do not go back and forth with your child about how they have gone over the time.  If they are not able to stick to the 15 minutes then let them know they can have long to get ready BUT it will require that you get them up earlier. AND if they cannot get up earlier then it will require that they go to bed earlier.

Please know that every time your child is unable to stick to a schedule that they are the ones who have to change their behavior not you.  Some of you may be saying 30-45 minutes is not long enough.  It is! I am a grown woman who puts on a full face of make up every day and I can get ready in that time. So can your child.  Below are some of my tools that you can use to keep your child on task.  Including:

• a timer

• a walkie talkie (yes so that you can just talk to them and remind them while you get ready instead of having to watch them),

• and check list to keep them on task.

9. Morning Routine Ideas For Single Moms ~ Easy Breakfast

The best single mom morning routines keeps things simple. I am not the type of mother that is going to make my child a full course meal every day for breakfast and I learned that is okay. As long as your children are not going to school hungry you will receive no judgment from me. That is why you need to make breakfast as easy as possible and depending on their age this can be something they can do on their own.

Such examples include popping waffles into the toaster (my son did this at 9), pouring some cereal, and having some fruit. Depending on how you feel they can microwave their own oatmeal or grits.  I have even given my son pop tarts and I  know you healthy moms are having a freakin heart attack.  But let’s not judge.  Just pick something simple that goes with your own morals that is quick, ideally something that your child can do on their own according to their own age.

You want to make sure they eat, but you also want to make sure that this process does not take hours and hours on end making you late to get out of the door.  Once again you want to set a time frame on this. Not to be a drill instructor but your child may play around and take all day to complete this task if you let them.  Defeating the purpose of a morning routine.

So don’t let them. If they take forever to eat their food, then make sure they are clear of distractions.  For example, no watching TV in the morning if this is causing you to be distracted. And also, as your child gets used to this they are to do ALL OF THIS ON THEIR OWN.  It has gotten to the point where I am getting ready while my son is getting ready and within 30 minutes we are both ready because we are both doing our own thing, he is doing it without a reminder, and I do not have to get him ready and get myself ready.

10. Morning routine ideas for single moms BONUS

This is something that I realized that my son started to do on his own but it does serve as a reward.  When my son finishes getting ready before I am he realizes that he can watch TV or play the XBOX before we leave.  This is a reward.  This makes him move faster because when he does he gets more TV and XBOX time.  You can find a reward that your child can do if they get done earlier that will give them an incentive not to waste time but to actually hurry up and move faster.

11. Single Mom Morning Routine ~ Get them To Do It Their Selves

As a single mom I am normally getting ready the same time my child is. I  know I have said that but I cannot tell you how important that is.  How much time that saves.  If it takes me 40 minutes to get ready and my son 20 minutes (minus breakfast) that is just 40 minutes to get ready.

If I had to sit and watch my child the entire time that is an hour.  Do you see the difference. Once they settle into a routine, this should not take you standing over them telling them their every move. That defeats the purpose of an efficient routine if you are stressing yourself to do it.  Once all is said and done you can check behind them and even check their tooth brush for being wet to make sure they brushed their teeth.

Because we know how young kids are, they sometimes want to skip the steps and say they really did something they did not do.  But the goal for them is for your children to be more independent in their routine especially as they get older. A skill that will help them in high school, in college, and even as an adult.

Teaching them this earlier actually helps them.  I spoke about daily positive reinforcement like TV or something if they finish getting ready early. But at the end of the week or even the end of the month if they meet the morning routine every day on time they you can reward them in a way that you see fit to encourage them to continue the behavior and to be consistent everyday.

12.  The Single mom morning routine so keep it a routine until it comes routine

Remember it is a routine and so routines take practice.  Do not try to implement this and within one day thinking that your child is going to follow all of this on their own.  They probably won’t.  But if you stick to and implement the routine then they will. This means being consistent on your part.  This means holding them accountable to following the routine. This includes setting the times in which they need to have everything finished and in the beginning you may have to remind them how much longer they have but do not give them longer.

Such as telling them they have 5 more minutes to finish getting ready not giving them an additional 5 minutes. This means holding yourself accountable and modeling what you are telling your child. You cannot move slow taking hours on end getting ready and expecting your child to be on time.  Just like I started at the start of this post, my son knows when I get up late and if we leave early or late.  Because I get up, get ready, and leave around the same time.  This establishes consistency and helps with the child understanding and doing the routine.

13. Morning Routine Ideas For Single Moms ~ Not following the routine consequences

If after everything your child is still not able to follow the routine, having trouble maintaining the time you allot to them, or still forgetting stuff that you know is on their checklist this is when you implement the consequence. (Also see my blog hear on being a stern parent). The consequence can be whatever you want but I am going to give you some ideas.  Also don’t forget to check out my video down below on the right way and wrong ways to dicipline a child.

14. Single mom morning routine ~ Going to Bed Earlier or getting up earlier.

• What you say: (enter your child’s name here) Since you cannot manage to follow your routine and are still late getting out of the door, then either you must not be well rested and don’t have enough energy OR you need to get up earlier to have more time to get ready.

Honestly they probably do have enough energy and may not need to really go to bed earlier but that is the consequences of not adhering to the time line. And what you are telling them that getting up earlier will give you more time to get yourself ready in the morning or going to bed earlier will allow you to feel well rested.  You can allow them to pick between the two. And once the consequences are implemented then you must adhere to it. No exceptions.  Only let up once your child is doing better with their routine.

15. Single Mom Morning Routine ~ Make them do more preparation

• What you say: (enter your child’s name here). Since you cannot manage to remember all of your things in the morning then I think you need to prepare more at night.  Before you go to bed I want you to go through your book bag make sure you have all your stuff and set it all of your stuff by the door.

It could be that your child has too much to do in the morning that they cannot keep up. Or it could that they are forgetful and not paying attention.  So make them do stuff the night before and set all of their stuff by the door the night before as well.  Which will decrease the likelihood of them forgetting something.

16. Single Mom Morning Routine ~ Take away distractions

If you notice that your child is on the phone, their tablet, or watching TV in the morning BEFORE they get ready then be sure to remove it from them. And the way you change this into a positive is that you tell them that when they are done with their routine they will get it back.  Ideally, this will make them move faster because we know kids want their electronics back. So use that as an incentive for them to move faster.

Remember that practice makes perfect and the key to a good morning routine as a single mother is being firm, fair, and consistent.  Firm meaning that you have to stick the routine as well and hold them accountable. Do not make excuses for them, do not allow them to make excuses, and do not be relaxed on the consequences.

Lay out your expectations and fair meaning that you cannot give them 5 minutes to get ready or be a drill instructor that may be impossible. Consistent meaning that you cannot expect them to follow the routine one day and the next day you just allow them to run about doing whatever they want, and have an inconsistent expectations of them.  They will never catch on that way.

I have done this and I have been successful and I promise you, you can do.  These are just the basics but you can feel free to add and take away what you want.  For example, coming up with how long it takes for your child to make the bed, if they do certain chores such as take out the trash on certain days, or walking the dog in the morning.  Whatever it is incorporate that in your morning routine following the steps I have given you, letting the child know how long it should take them to do each task. And on what day and for the mornings they have to do more they would have to get up earlier to maintain the schedule.  Ideally you want to leave around the same time of the day.  I know it sounds strict but trust me it really does have your child stick to a routine and make your life easier if you are not breathing down their neck telling them what to do all morning.

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Did you know that I have a book specifically for single moms? And it is a best seller in the single parenting category.   To know more or buy my book click here. Also click the picture below to join my email list Sophie-stication Nation and get the first few chapters for free.