Morning Routines Made Easier - Ep. 430

Shanna's drop-off struggles with her youngest escalate, so she lands on an unconventional solution to improve her family's morning routines. Laura scrambles to find last-minute babysitter coverage so she can attend an all-day music festival without the kids. In this week's "Throwback" segment, Shanna confesses to a split-second decision in fifth-grade band class that hurt a friendship, and shares what she hopes for her own fifth grader, who's navigating similar terrain. They also share this week's BFPs and BFNs.

Kids' ages: Shanna's kids are 7.5 and 10.5 years old, and Laura's kids are 7.5 and 5.5 years old.

Topics discussed in this episode:
• When school drop-off meltdowns keep escalating
• Disclosing an ADHD diagnosis to your child's school
• What a 504 plan is and when to ask about one
• Why leaving 10 minutes earlier changes everything
• Sensory triggers that derail a morning
• Scrambling for childcare when plans fall through
• Talking to kids about friendship conflict and repair
• Fifth-grade identity shifts and changing friend groups
• Peer pressure and mean-girl dynamics
• Using games and novelty to replace nagging
• Podcasts kids and parents can both enjoy

Products, links, resources mentioned in this episode:
• Greeking Out from National Geographic Kids (podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/greeking-out-fro…)
• Wheel of Names (wheelofnames.com)
• Daisy Chain Fields Festival (daisychainfields.com)
• Doechii (youtube.com/watch?v=riCP9x31Kuk)
• Pigeon in a Peanut (mcphee.com/products/pigeon-in-a-peanut)

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Big Fat Positive: A Pregnancy and Parenting Journey is produced by Laura Birek, Shanna Micko and Steve Yager.
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