I've found a new way to get the Kid up in the morning. Actually, it helps me get out of bed in the morning, also. The problem originally was that it took a long time for both of us to finally wake up, then get dressed and make it out the door to school. When I wake up, I turn the TV to Disney Junior and then take a shower. By the time I'm done with the shower, the Kid is awake because her favorite shows are now coming on, and I will admit the Disney Junior has some cool shows.
At 7 o'clock, a show called IMAGINATION MOVERS comes on, and it's about a group of guys who work in a warehouse and their whole job is to come up with creative ways to solve problems. It's right down my alley. It's got a lot of songs, which I now know by heart. At 7:30 AM, it’s CHARLIE AND LOLA and is about a brother and a sister and their relationship together. It's a really cute show, and it teaches a lot of good lessons.
I find the Disney Junior channel is much better at teaching lessons than other channels such as Nickelodeon, Qubo and the like. The Kid’s favorite of favorites is Doc McStuffins. It's about a little girl who has a special stethoscope that makes her stuffed animals and toys come alive, and she goes about fixing said stuffed animals and toys. In addition to teaching the general lessons, it also shows children how not to be afraid of a doctor and may even encourage some kids to think about being doctors. By the time Charlie and Lola comes on, the Kid is awake and awake enough to get dressed, which usually means she's watching TV and I'm just putting clothes on her. 8 o'clock rolls around, I turn the TV off. She's almost fully dressed or brushing teeth and headed out the door. Not a bad routine.
I've definitely had to watch what I'm watching around the Kid lately. I can't watch any news programs. She seems to pick up on the negative, really, really quickly and brings it up in conversation. Not in the “Why did they do that?” type of conversation, but as in the “Is that going to happen to me?” type of conversation. It scares her more than any horror movie could think of doing. Matter of fact, it does that to Daddy sometimes. I will usually record the news and just watch it when she's asleep. If I really need to read the news, I have a channel set up on Facebook and Twitter to where I can see all the local news as it happens.
What are different ways that you wake up your children to get them off to school in the morning? Can you wake your children up with a good “Rise and shine”, or do you need to spray cold water on them. Also, what are your TV viewing habits with your children? Do you pay attention to what they’re watching or do you even watch TV around them? If you do watch TV with small children, what are some of your favorite programs to watch?