![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/morning.jpg?resize=300%2C263&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nRabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za<\/p>\n
29 July 2026<\/p>\n
4-minute read<\/p>\n
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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\u2019t just survive on routine; they thrive on it!<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cif the foundation is strong, the rest of the home is something solid to stand on.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
A consistent morning routine:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe prepare everything except ourselves,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
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:<\/p>\n
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 \u201ccreate a gentle start\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Nadiya says, \u201cour bodies are speaking long before our mouths actually are.\u201d 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 \u201cbig emotions\u201d, finding difficulty in sleeping and concentrating, and being unable to eat. Nadiya advises calming the nervous system through:<\/p>\n
Finally, \u201cchoose connection before correction,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n