You may remember, a few months ago, Warburtons asked me and a lot of other mums - over 2000 of them ! - to share our top tips for reducing stress levels in the morning. (Click through to read my suggestions for a Stress Free Breakfast.) Well, they've collated all the answers and come up with a simple seven step plan to getting the day off to a good start.
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BRITISH BREAKFAST MOVING IN ONE DIRECTION… WITH A BIT OF GANGNAM STYLE!
POP IS THE PERFECT FORMULA FOR GETTING THE KIDS UP AND OUT OF THE HOUSE
IN THE MORNING
It’s a daily dilemma for every parent: getting the kids up and out of the house on time for school. But new research out today - which involved a combination of 2,000 mums, 54,000 Facebook fans and focus groups up and down Britain - has uncovered the ultimate routine for a stress-free morning.
The large-scale study, led by family baker Warburtons, and set to culminate in the launch of a new breakfast handbook this month – Breakfast: From Our Family To Yours ‘Making Breakfast Easy’, reveals that HALF of mums who use music to get their kids up in the morning find Pop to be the most effective genre, with Gangnam Style and One Direction topping the charts as the most popular wake up music... Although the research also uncovered that Dizzee Rascal and Rihanna kept Mums stress levels the lowest!
The research found that the key to a calm, domestic midweek morning is to start the night before and to take five minutes ‘me time’ before waking the children. This will help get your head together and reduce the chances of you starting the day feeling like you will never catch yourself up.
The ultimate routine, developed from extensive research and winning tips put forward by UK families over the last three months, is:
STEP ONE: START THE NIGHT BEFORE - Spend some time the night BEFORE packing school bags, sorting PE kits, prepping lunchboxes, laying the breakfast table and setting out clothes – 17mins is optimal, any more increases stress levels. This way you go to sleep knowing that you have already started your morning smoothly.
STEP TWO: GATHER YOUR THOUGHTS - Try to wake up before the children. Take five minutes ‘me time’ every midweek morning to grab a cup of tea and a slice of toast and gather your thoughts before waking the kids.
STEP THREE: WAKE THE KIDS - A single, calm wakeup call to the family should be enough and, where possible, should take place between 7:00am and 7:15am. The key is not to shout.
STEP FOUR: LURE THE KIDS OUT OF BED - Lure youngsters out of bed with the smell of fresh toast and pop music. The most popular aroma to help get children out of bed is freshly toasted bread, whilst Gangnam Style and One Direction top the charts as the most popular wake up soundtrack.
STEP FIVE: GET WASHED, CLEANED & DRESSED - To avoid peak stress levels, spend between 10 and 30 minutes overseeing the kids getting washed, their teeth cleaned and dressed. The key is NOT to shout – shouting is ineffective and a horrible way to start the day.
STEP SIX: ENJOY BREAKFAST - Allow 20-25 minutes to eat breakfast together with the children – the morning is proven to be less stressful if mums physically take the time to sit down with their child or children, with no distractions.
STEP SEVEN: OFF TO SCHOOL YOU GO - Follow the above and it should now take no more than five minutes to prepare to leave the house for school.
Child psychologist Professor Tanya Byron, who analysed the ultimate routine, said: “Mums and dads find the weekday breakfast period one of the most stressful and challenging parts of family life. But where we British parents excel is that many of us have an inspiring range of tactical strategies and clever parenting plans, such as step by step sequences like this, to make this busy start to the day run as efficiently as possible.
“As a child psychologist and mum myself, I can completely relate to the problems parents face and that’s why I’ve been working with Warburtons to pull together their new book - it truly is a practical guide to clever and creative parenting.”
Jonathan Warburton, Chairman of Warburtons and dad of four, adds: “Our new book contains the very best hints, tips, recipes and advice from families across the nation on how to juggle breakfast. Working closely with child psychologist Tanya Byron, the tips have been combined with the results of in-depth research to create the ultimate breakfast routine which, if followed step by step, should help families across Britain get through that all important breakfast rush with as little stress as possible.”
Log onto www.Facebook.com/Warburtons to get your hands on copy of Warburtons new parenting guide – ‘Making Breakfast Easy’.
You can also see the video below to find out more about the tips :
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