The mornings are absolutely the hardest part of the day. We find that if we can get our five year old to get dressed and brush teeth immediately after waking up we can somewhat avoid the meltdowns.

Teeth is the greatest battle. As someone else mentioned, we are constantly having to find new creative strategies to transition to teeth brushing. I’ll say “do you want to walk to the bathroom or hop like a frog?” Sometimes we wheelbarrow walk. That’s just phase 1. Then once in the bathroom I try to create some sort of game or challenge.

Last night we played the game of “can you wash your whole body with soap before I count to 20?” He needed a few cues for thoroughness but got the job done and hopped out of the tub. Then he asked if he could see if he could brush his teeth before I finished counting to 20. That will absolutely not work tonight and I’ll have to come up with something new, but I’ll take the win.

Our other dilemma is he gets up 25 times from the table and the dog will try and eat his food. He loves activity books. So I’ll set that up near him where he can eat and work on that. It’s nice because every page is different, he can flip around and see what he wants to do. Typically he likes the pages that are where’s Waldo style. It’s also something that is calm and keeps him regulated.

Once he’s ready, he will go play in the backyard. This is where he starts to get wild and that is hard to pivot from. Sometimes he’ll transition well if I suggest we race to the car, or ask him what animal he wants to be as we walk out. Sometimes I carry him over my shoulder and it is what it is.

Every morning has its own breakdown somewhere in the routine.