Five steps to mornings that make your day!

It’s 7:08 am on Tuesday morning.

Your kids are playing with their Lego bricks and it hits you: “We’re running late!”

You know that realistically being on time requires leaving the house at 7:30 am — sharp! So, you leap into action.

While rushing into your room to grab the first dress shirt in arm’s reach that’s clean (or mostly clean), you yell at your small beings to get dressed.

You slosh some toothpaste onto your brush and sprint to your kids’ room while brushing. It’s 7:16 am and time’s ticking!

Your kids’ status: Lego bricks and pajamas!

Anger builds and you yell like a drill sergeant, “Drop the Legos, get your clothes on, now. Hurry, hurry, hurry! We’re all going to be late!!”

Into the kitchen, you pack lunches — thank goodness for Lunchables!

Back to the kids: 7:21 am and still pajamas.

How can this be? Their clothes were already laid out! You know they can do it, so you wonder, “Are they torturing me on purpose?”

You grab your youngest, pull her clothes off, and put school clothes on while she whines and resists the entire process.

It’s now 7:24 am.

Your oldest is next on your hit list, but she’s harder because she’s stronger.

After a few minutes of fierce struggle on both sides it is 7:29 am and you’re ready to crawl back in bed from the physical fight, but carry on you must!

With one mighty push everyone’s in the hallway and you nag full tilt about putting on shoes, coats, and backpacks. Go, go, go! Hoping you remembered everything, you finally slam the door at 7:36 am.

You think to yourself, “This morning was pretty good … thank goodness for strong coffee!”

Sound eerily familiar? If it didn’t frustrate you so much, then you might see it as a funny “Brady Bunch” episode.

Mornings are universally tough, but there are a few simple steps you can take that have the power to bring peace to the beginning of your day.

Do what you can the night before. Make part of your bedtime routine packing backpacks, checking the weather, and laying out clothes — any possible details that can be done in advance.

Start earlier. An extra 15 minutes in the morning will give you breathing room. Starting the day calmly is certainly worth more 15 minutes of sleep. Not convinced? Then consider the effects of 30 minutes of stress on your body compared to the effects of 15 minutes of sleep. Looking at the situation logically, which would you prefer?

Give directions when you’re ready to follow through. Rather than yelling at your kids to brush their teeth while you’re getting dressed, wait until you’re done. You know that you need to be there to make sure it happens, so why say something before you can be? Save your energy and teach them to listen to you at the same time!

Only state action steps. Stop commenting on time limitations or your feelings of frustration. Time is unimportant to small beings, so they’ll never understand your sentiment. Tell them what needs to be done through action steps.

Stay calm. No matter how late you are or how worried you get, keep positive. When you’re calm, it’s easier for your kids to be unflustered and listen to you.

Dr. Marcie Beigel is a behavioral therapist based in Brooklyn. She has worked with thousands of families for more than 15 years and has condensed her observations into her practice and programs. For more on her, visit www.BehaviorAndBeyond.net.