The morning rush and bedtime meltdown

Mark Staufer, Co-Creator of Dadsaster, shares advice for parents on how to get through the two toughest times of the day, the morning rush and bedtime
Parenting Tips | Surviving The Morning Rush And Bedtime Meltdown
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The morning rush and bedtime meltdown

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There are two nightmare periods in the day for all parents, and if you're not a parent, you need to know about these two times. The first starts at the beginning of the day. This is the time when you have to get the sprogs out of bed, dressed, you've got to feed them, you've got to clothe them. And the older they get, the more they dislike the clothes you're trying to dress them in and the more they can take them off. Then you've got to brush their teeth, which can be horrific, and get their shoes on, get them out the door, and get them to school by a certain time. So in my situation, I walk my kids to school, which is kind of quite pleasant. And I have my daughter on my shoulders, and my son is clasped in my left hand. We've never been on time. It never happens. We're just 5 minutes late, 2 minutes late. I don't know what's going on. I do know what's going on. It's these children. It's their fault. I'm a guy who's always on time. I've never been late for anything. Now that I have kids, I'm just late for everything. That's the way it is. The other nightmare time in a parent's day is at the other end of the day, and I'm talking about bed time - Bed, Bath, and Beyond time as we call it in our house. The Beyond just doesn't happen when it should. So you have set rules about this once again that it's dinner time. Then it's homework. And then it's whatever else. And then it's book time and then it's bed time. The actual putting down process in the bed can take anywhere from half an hour to an hour depending on how these two children are feeling about going to sleep. So you spend a great deal of time cajoling and threatening. These are the two things parents have to do quite a lot of - bribery and threats. You do this constantly. If you don't do this, I will take this off you. And if you do this, I will give you this. Now, I'm sure these aren't great parenting skills. But when it's 9 o'clock at night, you haven't seen your wife except for 2 minutes at the door kissing her when she goes out, you will do anything including pray to Satan himself and offer him 2 years of your life to get them in bed by 9 o'clock.

Mark Staufer, Co-Creator of Dadsaster, shares advice for parents on how to get through the two toughest times of the day, the morning rush and bedtime

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Mark Staufer

Co-Creator, Dadsaster

Mark Staufer is a New Zealand native living in Los Angeles with his wife and two children. Mark and his co-host, Bryan Erwin have a blog and podcast about the gnarly responsibilities of being fathers. Mark and Bryan can be seen nightly on Disney Jr in their show “Dads."  

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