Dubai mums 5 am diaries: Breakfast, battles and bus-stop victories — how they conquer the school rush

The things we took for granted and never quite understood. Only later did I start to wonder how my mother, who woke up at 5:30 a.m., managed to pack two lunchboxes for my sister and me while my father made breakfast, found time to read with me, dropped us at the bus stop, headed to work, came back by afternoon to pick us up — and probably went back to work again.

Was it time management? Meticulous planning? Or just a quiet commitment to making sure everything ran smoothly on the most rushed mornings of the year?

So, really, how do parents do it---how do they plan these rushed school mornings and manage to get to work on time?

Well, let’s hear it from the mums themselves.

The daily routine

 Dubai-based Smita Abraham, a transformational coach, recalls her routine that involves waking up at 4:30 am. and ‘cursing the alarm,’ dragging her feet half-asleep into the kitchen after freshening up. “Then, it’s a race against time, as I hustle up breakfast, snacks and lunch for the day, waking up the kids at 5:45 am., making sure that they are ready on time, rushing between the bedroom, and kitchen, to make sure the food isn’t charred.”

 The next set of challenges is ensuring that the kids eat quickly while also tending to last-minute requests they forgot to mention the night before. “I take a huge breathe of relief, only after they board the bus on time.”

 She also adds that making sure the children are well-rested is crucial to having a stress-free morning. “Having healthy night-time routines are a big game changer for that. When my kids were smaller I made sure they were in bed by 8:00 .m. so they could read a book and wind down to sleep by 8:30 p.m.”

 No doubt, as children grow older, the timings reduce. Sleeping early is just not ‘cool anymore’ (wait till you get to your 30s kids), and that’s another war that happens every night, as Abraham notes. “I still make sure they get a solid 8-9 hours of sleep.”

 Abraham also reminds parents to embrace the conveniences available today.  Use the hacks without mom-guilt, and that involves pre-cut vegetables and fruits, which is a better option than junk or processed food. Moreover, there are even school cafeteria lunches offering balanced meals. As she firmly says, “This day and age, lets stop glamorising mothers who pulls all stops to be the super woman she’s conditioned to be, and let’s take the hacks and tricks that we have at our finger tips, so we can have less burned out and more happy moms who can spend wholesome moments with her family.”

Planning ahead

 For Abraham, morning planning begins on the weekend. “Planning the menu, making sure we have the required ingredients, prepping the ingredients wherever possible, sometimes have a relaxed morning if a dish for breakfast or lunch is sorted the previous day itself.”

 Her pro tip? “Keeping the required vegetables washed and cut is the strategy to having a slightly relaxed morning. Yet, preparing a little extra dinner the previous night to pack as lunch, is one of the hacks that she advises, when she doesn’t want to slog in the kitchen, every morning. The uniforms will be washed, ironed and kept ready during the weekend. As the kids grow delegate more responsibilities to them, according to their capabilities, so the moms get a little relief when it comes to getting the uniforms and bags ready.”

 Muna Alsumaiti, a mother of four (ages 14, 12, 11, and 8), also credits careful night-before prep and teamwork with her nannies. She gets the two younger boys up first, sorts their breakfast, and drops them at the bus stop. Then she turns her attention to her older daughters, who have a later school timing. Only after everyone’s out the door does she take a moment for herself and head to work by 7 a.m.

 As the mothers admit, the morning rush can be maddening — but years of practice have taught them the hacks and tricks to manage their time. They know which child needs extra time to wake up, who will dawdle getting ready, and how to make small adjustments so everything still runs (mostly) on schedule.

Understanding your child

Luz Maria, parenting coach and a mother of three boys, adds her perspective. “The first thing to understand, is preparation the night before, and understanding who your child is. For example, my child takes his time to wake up in the morning, take his time to put on his uniform. So, I prepare, I wake him at 5:45, which is 15 minutes before. I know that in his uniqueness, and personality, he takes time. He’s not going to change. But, I can adjust.”

 Her advice goes beyond logistics. “Next, take a deep breath. Life is unpredictable. You can prepare, but the worst that can happen is that you can be late to school. You need that inner compassion and empathy to understand yourself — that you are trying your best, and not everything is going to go to plan. And that’s okay.”