As many of you know, raising children is a lot of work. Whether they’re in kindergarten, elementary school, junior high, or high school, there are a whole range of challenges that you will have to deal with as a primary caregiver, and trust us when we say we know it can be completely overwhelming! But also trust us when we say there are strategies and approaches, which we have tried and tested, that can make things a whole lot more manageable. That’s what we’re going to share with you in today’s episode, peppered with stories of our own personal experiences as moms which will make you want to laugh and cry all at once. Whether you are a mom, dad, grandparent, or any other form of guardian, we hope this episode provides you with some useful knowledge that makes the school years easier on you and on your children because that is what all of you wholeheartedly deserve! 

Key Points From This Episode:

• Struggles that we went through with getting our children to school on time.
• Benefits of expecting things to go wrong in the morning.
• Energy that you do and don’t want to be putting onto your children before school.
• Insecurities that Kelly had as a young mom, and how this negatively affected her and her family. 
• Why it’s important to let your children do the things they are capable of doing, instead of doing everything for them.
• How Kelly maintains structure, although she is not a naturally organized person.
• The better you know your childrens’ habits and quirks, the easier your mornings will be.
• Preparing ahead will benefit your mental health as a mom.
• Hear how each of our children deals with the morning.
• Lessons from kindergarten classrooms that will make your life at home easier.
• Apps that help organize your family schedule.
• Why the teenage years are harder than the younger years. 
• The approach we adopted for when our children forgot things at home.
• Kelly’s family’s rule about the gas tanks in their cars.
• A few stories which highlight the benefits of having a stock of school supplies at home.
• What you need to teach your children before they leave for college.
• Why you should never compare your children to one another.
• Kelly’s son’s college experience.
• The value of asking your children what they need.
• Challenging transition periods in your childrens’ lives.
• Stories which define the chaos that defined our lives at some point.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for support when you need it.
• A shout out to all primary caregivers, in all shapes and forms. 

Tweetables:

“You need to prepare as much as you can so that you can prepare for the chaos that will happen inevitably.” — Megan Block [0:03:06]

“We all have our own insecurities. We all have our own stuff from our own childhood that we carry over. The sooner you let all of that go, the better off everybody's morning, afternoon, evening, etc. will be.” — Kelly Castillo [0:09:55]

“Knowing your child is part of managing expectations. If you allow the same thing to happen every day and frustrate you the same way every day, then that's a signal obviously that what you're doing isn't working and you need to change.” — Kelly Castillo [0:17:47]

“Your mental health, your kids mental health is way more important than what the elementary school or middle school has to say about whether your kids are on time.” — Kelly Castillo [0:40:07]

“Don't take it all on, make your life easier, whenever possible, figure out strategies that make your life easier.” — Kelly Castillo [01:05:09]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Kelly Castillo

Cozi