How to Make Waking Up for Early Morning Hockey Practice Much Easier

As any hockey mom knows, getting your kids up for an early morning hockey practice is like sticking your arm in a piranha tank. It’s a constant, never-ending battle.

But, that being said, we still have to get our kids up for those early morning practice sessions on crisp fall and winter mornings. So, how can you do that without wanting to strangle your kids every morning? Hopefully, these tips can help.

Are They Sleeping Enough?

The first step to take when trying to get your kids up for early morning hockey practice is to make sure they are getting enough sleep. To put it in perspective.

kids ages 3-5 need 10 to 12 hours of sleep each night
kids 6-13 need 9 to 11
kids 14-17 need 8 to 10

Make sure that you allow your child’s bedtime to give them those hours of sleep their bodies need. Also, make sure that they aren’t sneaking their phone or IPad with them to sleep. All electronics should be put away each night. For everyone’s sanity.

Give A 5-Minute Grace Period

Unfortunately, unless you are one of those annoying morning people when your alarm goes off each morning, I doubt you jump out of bed excited to face the day. More likely, you smear the spit off the side of your face and snooze your alarm for five more minutes.

Kids are just like us. They might need that extra five minutes to get up and to move. So, when you wake them up for the first time, build in that five-minute grace period. This will let your kids gradually wake up, and you won’t have to stand there yelling at them to get up.

Put Their Alarms Out of Arm’s Reach

It’s all too easy to snooze your alarm when it’s right beside you, but impossible to do if it’s on the other side of the room. By the time your kids get up to turn off the alarm, there will be no point in going back to bed.

Try to pick one of your child’s favorite songs, or if you’re feeling devious, an incredibly annoying song that will get them up and moving each morning.

Wake Them Up with Smell

Now, you don’t want to feed them too much before early morning hockey practice so that you’ll see it again later, but your kids need the energy to face this practice session. Tempt them to wake up by promising them their favorite granola bars, eggs, or breakfast food. The more they can smell it, the better.

Though this might be one more thing added to your already hefty plate as a hockey mom, many crockpot recipes can allow you to cook a hearty breakfast while you sleep.

Put Them in Rooms with Natural Light

Especially when the clocks change and hockey season is getting into full swing, the morning light might wake your kids up before you do. This will allow their bodies to wake up more naturally, rather than being jumped awake by an alarm clock.

Stick to A Routine

According to research, sleeping the same amount each night, i.e., getting up at the same time, helps get your body more adjusted. This means that even on the days your kids might not have early morning hockey practice during the week, don’t get sucked into letting them sleep too late.

That is only going to make them grouchy and tired when they have to get up the next day. If you can, get them up at the same time each day so that they can get into the routine. This will be helpful for you too.

Bribe Them

Now, I don’t mean that you should bribe your kids. But, offer them some incentives for getting up so early. For example, maybe they can watch some TV or play on the iPad if they are ready before you have to leave for practice.

My kids jump at the opportunity to have nature box snacks for breakfast. It works out great for us, the food is delivered, it’s healthy, and it gets them moving. The best part is you can get som great snakc subscriptions for like $5.

Remind your kids of this promise every time that you wake them up. And, I am sure that they will at least try to rouse themselves out of bed.

Don’t Yell

Though you might desperately want to yell at your child to get the (insert expletive here) out of bed every morning; don’t. Yes, getting kids up can be frustrating. But, it is only adding fuel to the fire by yelling at them further. And, none of us have time to deal with defiance in the wee hours of the morning. Try to be pleasant when waking your kids up for early morning hockey practice. Most importantly, make sure that when you shake them, you don’t break anything.

By keeping your emotions under control, they are much more likely to be able to control their own.

Have Everything Set Out

Kids are not capable of doing much in the morning. So make sure that you have everything ready to go to early morning hockey practice the following day the night before. Make sure you back the bags, load the pads, tape the sticks, and pack up the skates.

This is one less thing to put on your kid’s and your plate that morning before you rush out the door.

Early Morning Hockey Practice is Rough

As hockey moms, we have a whole different idea and loathing for morning routines than most moms. But, in frustrating mornings and annoying child interactions, we need to remember why we are doing this. We are doing this because our kids love this sport, and we have fallen in love with it too.

Do you have a way to get your kiddos out of bed? Please share in the comments. We will take whatever advice we can get.

Please join us and talk hockey in my Facebook Group, Hockey Mom Hacks. It’s great when a community of like-minded hockey moms can share ideas.

Rachel Watson is the website manager at OurStart.com. OurStart is a lifestyle blog for women in their 20s and 30s, and they regularly tackle issues related to pregnancy, parenting, relationships, and weddings. Rachel is a recent graduate of Grove City College. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring cafes, writing cards, and playing with her miniature schnauzer.