Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

29 July 2026

4-minute read

While it is impossible for parents with school-going kids to have a perfect morning, what kids really need is for their mornings to be predictable. Children don’t just survive on routine; they thrive on it!

Nadiya Essa is a body talk practitioner and holds a degree in foundation phase teaching. She is passionate about using a holistic approach to help people find harmony and improve their mental, emotional and overall wellbeing.

Nadiya says that the morning sets the tone for the day. If you start off rushed, your day will generally continue in a rush. Comparing the mornings to the foundation of a home, Nadiya states that “if the foundation is strong, the rest of the home is something solid to stand on.” In the morning, our bodies move from a state of rest to a state of alertness, cortisol levels rise, and we feel a burst of energy. However, if we begin in a rushed state while reaching for our phones, our nervous systems go into survival mode and our kids, who have not yet learnt to regulate their emotions, feed into this.

A consistent morning routine:

• sets the emotional tone for the day,
• helps with punctuality,
• allows kids to arrive at school in a calm state,
• gives them a sense of security,
• gives children the tools to be organized and consistent, and
• reduces anxiety – especially in neurodivergent children.

“We prepare everything except ourselves,” says Nadiya. When you get up 5 or 10 minutes earlier every morning, you have time to decompress before rushing into the day. Children who are often woken up at the very last-minute go straight into the stress and the rush of mums and dads shouting at them for being late, not giving them a chance to prepare their nervous system for the day.

From an emotional perspective, Nadiya says that she never encourages perfection, but she does advocate for parents to be consistent in their morning routines, by:

• Having a simple plan,
• Prepping the night before,
• Setting a shower/bathroom/breakfast routine,
• Making a simple dua together or playing Quran in the car,
• Giving kids a hug to emotionally connect with them before they set off for their day.

Instead of reaching for your phone, reach for the people in your home. When you consume social media content and negative news feeds, you allow the outside world to influence how you feel. Children can sense this and if they are also on their phones from the moment they wake up, they are over-stimulated from the outset. Nadiya encourages families to “create a gentle start” to the day by opening the curtains and letting the natural light fill the home, having some water, sharing breakfast together, and keeping the lines of communication open. If you have the luxury of taking your child to school, a car-ride is an ideal setting for connecting and having meaningful conversation.

Nadiya says, “our bodies are speaking long before our mouths actually are.” At an emotional level, instead of telling us that they are feeling overwhelmed, our children show it to us through their body language in the form of tummy aches, displaying “big emotions”, finding difficulty in sleeping and concentrating, and being unable to eat. Nadiya advises calming the nervous system through:

• Deep breathing,
• Beginning the day with positive thoughts, and
• Understanding the message behind your child’s behaviour.

Finally, “choose connection before correction,” says Nadiya. Turn your mornings into calm instead of chaos – pause, smile, hug your children and assure them that they are loved before they leave home.

Listen to the full program with Faaiza Munshi and her guest Nadiya Essa on New Horizons.