Joanna Fortune: So hard to get back in the swing of early starts in January

Suggest that each child do something to make mornings easier. One of them can lay the table for breakfast the night before. Another can arrange everyone’s shoes and coats close to the door so they are ready to go. They can each lay out their uniforms the night before and put their school bags by the wall so no one is looking for anything when they are in a rush

Joanna Fortune: "Talk at breakfast about what everyone is most excited about that day. If you still have someone dragging their reluctant heels, you could make it a race to see who is at the door first, ready to go. If everyone gets to the door 'on time' every day, you could have a family movie treat night on Friday to celebrate."

My children, aged five and seven, had a great Christmas with lots of late nights and sleep-ins. But I'm finding it difficult to get them back into a routine now school has reopened. They are also cranky with the early morning starts. What can I do?

Holidays are a great opportunity for family fun and play, as well as lazy pyjama days and being able to decide what you would like to do. However, they inevitably come to an end, often before we feel ready to readjust to our regular daily routines. Children and their parents need a break from their more rigid routines as it allows us to relax and slow down from a frenetic daily pace.