Though we’re loath to admit it, come January, most parents are looking forward to the beginning of the school year. While for the kids it signals the end of summer, of holidays, and of playing with their mates, for parents it signals the end of trying to occupy them all day, everyday, defusing arguments over who hit whom with the Wii control, and picking up after them and all their friends!

After they’ve spent six weeks of walloping each other with the Wii, however, getting them to school on time is a challenge worthy of Farah Fawcett and the other Angels. But in the absence of some butt-kicking super spies, you could also try these tips for making the first day of school as easy as A-B-C.

Getting Dressed – After you overcome the hurdle of getting the kids up in the morning, getting dressed is the next big one. Kids love to dilly dally when it comes to getting out of their pajamas and into their uniforms, but it’s also twice as complicated when you’re clawing through the laundry to find clean uniforms. Here is pays to be organised.

Put the uniforms in a handy place the night before – whatever works best for you and the kids, be it in their room, in the bathroom, even by the kitchen bench if it works! – and set a deadline for when everyone needs to be dressed and ready to get out the door. If it means getting dressed as soon as they’re out of bed, make that the routine; if it’s after breakfast, then set that as the deadline. Eventually even with the odd sleep-in snafus, this deadline will become a habit. And a god one at that!

School Lunches – Everyone wants to be creative with school lunches in a hope their children will actually eat and enjoy them, but we also need to be realistic. The best way to avoid lunchbox stress in the morning is to plan.

Plan the week’s lunches when you do the weekly shop. Try different sandwich fillings and breads, like wraps, rolls or plain sandwich loaves to keep the kids interested. Also try and balance the junk food out with the healthy by including fruit and a muffin or carrot sticks and a biscuit.

Getting Out The Door On Time – Start getting the kids to bed early the week before school starts. This will make the practice of getting up early for school less of a shock to the system. Then it’s up to you to get up first and get organised, that way you won’t be trying to organise yourself and the kids at the same time.

Above all, you need to be organised so the kids can take their lead from you. If you’re constantly getting up late, rushing around and forgetting things, they won’t ever get the hang of how their morning is supposed to progress. Once they see a pattern forming, they will instinctively progress through each step until it’s time to get out the door and off to school.