How To Build A Morning Routine For Yourself And Your Kids

Benjamin Franklin's, famous quote " Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.", which he took from an old English proverb, Inspired me to make a little experiment.

Growing up in a very unstable environment, I never had a structured routine, specifically, a morning routine, and let me tell you, the struggle of becoming an adult, without having an effective routine, is brutal. For years I didn't have a sense of direction, and as a result, my life was absolute chaos.

A few years ago, when I started to learn about routines, with Terry Savelle Foy,( her YouTube channel is amazing), I started to implement her routine, and my whole life has changed dramatically, although I still have a lot of work to do, especially in the fitness area. Not to make any excuses, but I do walk a lot every day though.

One of the most important parts of building a morning routine is to wake up earlier. Having that precious time for myself has been imperative for me to stick to waking up 2 hours before my family does. It didn't happen overnight, it took me a while, but now, I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. In fact, I can't wait for my morning time to pray, read my bible, have my coffee while I write my thoughts, feelings, and the events from the day before, which I personally do to track my progress, or to course-correct if necessary. I also read a few pages of an informative book. Usually a biography, a memoir, or a personal growth book, and I also read a few pages of a fiction book. Last but not least, I do my stretching for 5 minutes, and I take a shower and get dressed for the day before waking my son up.

His love for reading ignited me to share a few books with him when he turned 10 years old. The first one is Sophie's World, A novel about the history of philosophy by Jostein Gaarder. I was extremely excited to see how much he enjoyed it, and most importantly, how much he learned. The next book is a bigger and more complex book, but since the author, Robert Greene has a wonderful way to tell stories, Mastery was the perfect book for a young reader. This one took Philip a little longer to read, but he loved to see how very influential people became masters at their craft. The latest informational book that he has been reading, which is adapted for young readers is Becoming, by Michelle Obama. He is loving her stories, so far. I can't wait for him to finish, her explanation of the title Becoming is extraordinary, as it is her amazing story.

Creating a morning routine for a young boy, which is as structured as the one for an adult, is certainly challenging for him, because, he has to wake up earlier, even though it is only 30 minutes, sometimes 15 minutes, and it is difficult for me because I have to keep my word that if he doesn't do his routine in the morning, he won't have video game playing time. This is what he loves the most, besides, he plays with his friends online so it isn't just a hobby, but also the opportunity for him to socialize. The key for this is to have parental controls and his computer password, even though the goal is for him to love having his very peaceful and grounding morning routine to the point that I won't have to control his screen time anymore, but motivation is essential to keep him doing his morning routine, which is as follows: Wake up to pray, after asking God for guidance, he opens a random bible page, then he opens his current book and reads a few pages, followed by writing what he learned/understood from both the bible and the book, then he wakes up to get ready, eats his breakfast and takes care of his birds, Cheese and Crackers, before brushing his teeth.

We talk about what he learned and what he thinks and feels on our way to school. This routine is an opportunity to have important conversations and to deepen our relationship. I have noticed that during the weekends he stays in bed longer doing his routine, which makes me and my husband very happy because he chooses to take more time for it. We talk about it during breakfast.

My hope is that with these daily habits, my son's adult life will be easier and more successful. I once read a sign on a billboard years ago, with this quote, "Correct today's children so you won't have to punish tomorrow's adults." It stuck with me, and I pray that he won't resent me, but if he does, let him feel rage against me, I am willing to sacrifice his love now, as long as he can thank me later on, when he is a responsible, happy, and successful man.

So far, he is still loving and we still spend time together, although, he doesn't want to be with us, his parents all the time as he used to when he was a little boy, but we still watch shows together, go out for walks, and have long conversations. He also brought home a perfect 7th-grade report card, along with a Gold Honors Roll certificate, what else could we ask for? We are truly blessed!

What do you think about being too strict? Do you think it could be detrimental, or do you agree?

Let me know in the comments.

Thank you for stopping by!