Getting ready on time is perhaps one of the biggest problems parents face pre-9am.  Unfortunately, human beings have decided it necessary to schedule everything around a circular object with twelve numbers on it, thus making us the only living things in this universe that think time a necessity.  This essential object has therefore created hurdles by way of our genetic design.  As adults we can read clocks and feel the pressure of our boss’s stare when we walk through the door after starting time.  Children, however, feel no such pressure.  To them, there is an infinite amount of time to move from a to b and explore c to d.  The consequence of this mismatched perception is stress for the parent.

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Lessening the pain

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While there is no quick and permanent fix to getting children out of the house on time, there are a few tricks that can be employed to make it a little easier.  Routines are one of the first strategies that should be examined when dealing with house departure woes.    Routines should not only flow but also match the child’s capabilities.  Essentially, this means that adults need to consider children’s capabilities like them being able to dress themselves as well as their capability in finding the necessary levels of...