My daughter was thrilled to get her first alarm clock the week before she started prekindergarten. And I was thrilled to give it to her. I imagined her bouncing out of bed each morning, hitting the "off" button, and cheerfully slipping on her clothes. But Eva, now 7, her sweet head just inches from the nightstand, has slept through the buzzer ever since.
As so many of us know, how the morning starts can make or break a day for children and parents with things to do and places to be. More times than I can count, my efforts to pry Eva out of bed have earned me the title "Meanest Mommy in the World!"
I know I'm not alone in wishing that my child would actually arise on time and perform her get-ready rituals with a smile on her face. And it's not just my own sanity I'm out to save. "The morning can be special for everybody," says child psychologist Marjorie Hardy, Ph.D., of Allentown, PA. "It's the time when you have the opportunity to strike a positive note for the rest of the day." Here, strategies from experts and parents to help even an A.M.-challenged family do just that.
Contributing editor Jessica Snyder Sachs is a health and science writer based in Georgia.
