Top 20 Tricks for Getting Your Teen Out of Bed
I don’t think I’ve mentioned before that we had an exchange student come to live with us this past winter. He was a great addition to or family, so much that we’ve opened our home to another student this September. While our last student was only here for 5 months, this boy will be here for the whole school year- and I need all the help I can get turning from Momma to toddlers to host Mom to a 16 year old boy!
I have small kids, NOT teenagers. Teens are a different species altogether. Toddlers are eager to hop out of bed, skip to the kitchen, excited to get the day started and play all day. NOT teenagers, they need to be drug out of bed, light a fire under their rear to get the engine rolling, and forced to eat a healthy breakfast to start the day. That’s where YOP comes in. These tasty breakfast drinks are easy to grab out of the fridge and slurp back as you run to catch the bus.
In an effort to get myself fully prepared as teen mommy I asked my friends with teens of their own for some tips on getting teens out of the house in the morning, here is what we came up with:
- Have your toddler wake them up- a persistent wee one hopping and flopping on you would make the dead get out of bed (I know you know what I’m saying).
- Set the alarm clock on the opposite side of the room, on buzzer, not radio.
- Stiff consequences for not getting out of bed on time. Turn Wi-fi off, loose cell phone, etc. no teen wants that to happen.
- Secretly change the time on their clock to a half hour earlier.
- Turn the shower on when their alarm goes off- if they don’t get right up the hot water will be gone by the time they do, if they do get right up they are ‘rewarded’ with a hot shower.
- Turn their bedroom lights on when the buzzer goes off.
- Remove the blinds or dark curtains from the bedroom.
- Climb in bed for some much needed snuggle time with your teen.
- Blast undesirable music (I’m thinking 80’s twang country, or do your own rendition).
10. Enforce an early bedtime, more they are late, the earlier it gets.
11. Run the vacuum outside or inside their bedroom.
12. Squirt them with a water gun… or a super soaker!
13. Call their cell phone- multiple times.
14. Take the blankets away.
15. Cook bacon. Won’t be able to resist the smell, and if they wait too long it will all be gone.
16. Let the dog in, everyone loves dog kisses early in the morning.
17. Fire blank 12 gauge shot gun shells in the room- ok… this one is from a man friend- but I bet you’d only have to do it once!
18. Have a ‘birds and the bees’ talk- Sit on the edge of the bed and say “I think this is the perfect time to talk about sex, do you have time, or maybe you have to get right up and ready for school?”
19. Allow your other child in to raid their closet.
20. Grab their cell phone and read their texts out loud to them “ oh, you’re meeting Sam at lunch, who’s Sam?” or pretend to text their friends- “Sam you’re so hot, meet me for lunch?”
If all these tips fail and you can’t seem to haul your teen out of bed before the bus is on your doorstep, grab a YOP yogurt drink to throw at them as they run out the door, and smile knowing they have a delicious healthy snack in their tummy! I love having YOP on hand; my kids love the yummy flavours, foreign students love to try new treats, and my husband (who is just as hard to get out of bed) likes slurping one back on the way to work- win, win, win!
Head on over to the Life Made Delicious Facebook page to check other great breakfast ideas, yummy lunch snacks, and coupons for some of your favourite general Mills products!
“Disclosure – I am participating in the Help YOP Help You Blogger Campaign by Mom Central Canada. I received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion. The opinions on this blog are my own.”
